Turning a Complex Article Into One Image

The hardest assignments are not always the longest drawings. They are often the stories with too many possible images: too many actors, too much context, technical details, and a headline that has to land quickly.

Find the real point

Before style, I try to find the point of view. Is the story about risk, discovery, pressure, absurdity, money, power, or consequence? Once that is clear, the image can stop being a literal scene and become a relationship between things.

Use metaphor, but keep the subject alive

A technology story can become a game. A supply-chain story can become a fragile machine. A social issue can become one human moment. The metaphor has to make the subject sharper. If it only makes the image clever, it is probably not enough.

Make it survive the layout

Editorial images travel. They become homepage thumbnails, newsletter crops, social cards, article headers, and sometimes print pieces. I try to build the image so the first idea still reads after all that cropping and resizing.

Browse more examples in the portfolio or contact me about an editorial assignment.