The Mulberry Tree, Fall 2020 Edition
Illustration Series by Keely Houk and Erin Moran
My design team was tasked with creating illustrations for the Fall 2020 edition of The Mulberry Tree. Between Erin and myself, we conceptualized and illustrated a series of pieces for the magazine.
I provided the art & editorial direction for these series of illustrations. Through use of color and light, we juxtaposed the College community's stress and isolation caused by the pandemic, with the hope and tight-knit nature of our community which kept the spirit of The St. Mary's Way (our Ethos) alive.
We employed a uniform style across the illustrations (which was particularly difficult given that we both have different styles) in order to create a holistic approach throughout the magazine.
In the above illustrations, I wanted to illustrate the various key themes of the article. The blue shadows show a rough illustration of an aerial view of St. Mary's College. I chose to make the College a faster sketch to represent the reach, memory, and shadow of the school. Overlaid on this image is an illustration within an illustration. I chose a hands in motif, representing the community and its connections. I chose to draw the hands so that they aren't touching, as, because of the pandemic, the community was isolated-- both literally and figuratively. Within the hands themselves, I used tones of golds and reds to show how our current students and alumni were contributing to the community during these hard times. I wanted to have the inner illustrations glow (by use of color) and contrast with the background to show that the community is hopeful, and that despite these hard and dark times, it is the SMCM community that brings the light to each other and the people they help. These contributions were shown through touch points in the article while also retaining the dark and light motif.
I represented the interconnection between people in the illustrations, while also encapsulating the isolation of the moment. The colors (Our PMS Blue, in addition to shades of blue, gold, and cool reds) connect the alumni and students. I wanted to show both the trepidation and the hope of the pandemic, specifically focusing on color palette.
Below are Erin Moran's (2020 SMCM graduate) Illustrations, which she produced based on my art direction. We worked through the illustration drafts together. As Erin's Mentor, I am incredibly proud with what she accomplished. Please check out her portfolio HERE
Above is her cover design. We worked through content, layout, and color, but ultimately she executed the concept from start to finish.
Above and below are her editorial illustrations about the pandemic and its effects on the SMCM community
Thanks for taking a look!
To read the full alumni magazine, please go to the link below or click HERE:
