Client: IndyKids, a nonprofit that aims to engage kids in journalism, and thereby empower the next generation of critical thinkers, community leaders, and activists.

Objectives:

This header illustration was created for an article researched & written by 12-year-old Zahra Latheef, about simultaneous, interrelated extreme weather conditions across the globe. It was important that each extreme—fire, flood, storm, etc.—felt like it coursed right into the next, and to give them a magnitude that felt true & not sugar-coated.

I really wanted to capture the creativity, care, and concern kids are responding with, in a way that felt true—not un-empowering, but reflecting the reality that bigger, systemic change is what we need urgently. I hoped to create something empathetic, and a reality-check on where responsibility lies.

I also wanted to talk about the impact beyond our human lives & built environment. Embedding these threatening vignettes within a world of organic shapes & bright color—contrasting childlike elements against the threats posed, and vibrant birds & fish against smoke & spiraling wind—I wanted to express urgency for the rareness & beauty of all we stand to lose.

Feedback ==> Final:

After my 1st sketch (purple background), the biggest note from IndyKids’ Editor-in-Chief was that the piece was missing a sense that these extreme weather conditions had a (shared) SOURCE. I was missing imagery that would show where these vignettes were stemming from, and what, in fact, was connecting them.

We decided to bring in the imagery of a power plant, whose smoke emissions could billow out into the big wave I wanted to include. The visual addition made other elements, like the forest fire and the tornado spiral, feel more interconnected as well.

Other consensuses were to opt for a more earthy-feeling background color, and to replace the polar bears (which we mutually loved 🥺💓), with images that felt “closer to home,” as the article was more about how extreme weather affects our daily lives, homes, and cities.

The newspaper was printed locally by Linco Printing in Long Island City, NY, and the team at IndyKids made this fun behind-the-scenes video while they were on press! ✨✨

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Created in October, 2022