An Illustrator to Hire Right Now
We’ve been asking our fellow editors and creatives about the writers, photographers, and illustrators who are on their go-to list. In today’s Dog Blog, Dog Ear’s Patrick Kirchner gives a shout out to one of his favorites, Italy-based illustrator Davide Bonazzi.
One of the elements of art direction to which I devote the most time (and most enjoy) is perusing and commissioning illustration work. The sea of editorial illustration is vast and full of so much talent that it’s a gift to be able to take a swim through it all each production cycle.
The characteristic I find myself consistently looking for—regardless of style or aesthetic—is strong conceptual chops. In storytelling, illustration can often accomplish what photography cannot: bending and distorting reality to distill complex topics down to digestible visuals that convey meaning and narrative. It’s translation, whereas photography is revelation. Each art form has its place, and each offers a distinct practical application in communication.
This becomes especially important in higher ed comms, where our storytelling is so often wrapped around complex research topics or initiatives that are hard to describe but have impacts far beyond campus. These kinds of things are often best translated through illustration.
And one illustrator I return to time and again for his effortlessness in conveying complicated ideas with an essence of visual pithiness is Davide Bonazzi, a Bologna, Italy-based artist who’s on the talented roster at Salzman International.
I’ve been working with Davide for almost a decade now and his illustrative work consistently delights with a sense of humor or compels with an essence of gravity—he can phase shift seamlessly with the topic. He can also create with very little direction: Give him the barest of creative briefs—sometimes just a story topic and a phrase—and he’ll return magic. And he always offers more than you ask for—3 or 4 strong conceptual options when you only requested 1 or 2. (Warning: his concepts are so strong it’s hard to choose a favorite among them).
Basically, Davide Bonazzi makes your job as an editor or art director easier, while making you look good to stakeholders and your audience. A smart hire every time.
Here are just a few of the pieces Davide has illustrated for our design work with Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health magazine and Monmouth magazine. Click on the images below for a larger view of each.
