Notes on Innovation

Each year since 2013, Pollen Midwest has been creating narrative-driven, art-drenched case study books for the Bush Foundation’s Prize for Community Innovation. We were hired on in 2020 to create the icons and illustrations for their final book in the series.

Our goal was to depict each characteristic of innovation (17 total) in a cohesive icon set and create 3 illustrations in a distinctively different style to coincide with each chapter title. For the characteristics of innovation icons, we channeled a very Midwestern summer feel into line-art based icons. For example, for building community we illustrated a group of people gathering around a campfire. For reframing risk, we showed a person fearlessly diving off of a dock into unknown waters.

For the chapter title illustrations I used a more organic, block print style. We read each story thoroughly, took notes on themes throughout, and created illustration sets for the chapter titles based on those themes.

As the project continued, we were asked to design and lay out each of the stories in the 150 page book. We worked closely with design director Melanie Walby to keep the feel of the previous books while updating and innovating on the design to make it unique. We used typography and illustration to my advantage, creating bold pull quotes and taking elements of the story spot illustrations into different areas of each story for continuity and visual interest.