Marketing Virgin

Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Tina Vaziri, an incredibly talented illustrator whose work is proudly featured in both magazines and households nationwide. Tina’s illustrations can be viewed on her website. Make sure to stop by her blog as well.

1. What is an illustration? James Montgomery Flagg (the famous illustrator behind the Uncle Sam “I want you for the U.S. Army” poster) was quotes as saying that “The only difference between a fine artist and an illustrator is that the latter can draw, eats three square meals a day, and can afford to pay for them.” Illustrators are paid, for their individual styles, to create images that bring a clients product to another level of completion and uniqueness. This provides additional information to the viewer and sets the clients product apart from competitors.

2. What makes an illustration different from a simple graphic design piece? Graphic design is typographical functionalism. A visually pleasing layout of information that guides the viewer through your message in a specific order. This is a crucial tool to have in marketing. Unlike the uniqueness and individuality of illustration, graphic design is often times more anonymous, catering to the clients branding needs. But, illustration usually does not exists without graphic design, the latter being the vessel which enables illustration to tell its story. In the recent years, photography has replaced the use of illustration in many functions, because of the rise of image stock houses and cheap prices, this has opened up new opportunities for companies to start using custom illustration again to gain an edge over their competition. Even though is it usually a less expensive option, photography is bound by the tangible rules of the world we live in, this is a very limiting fact, and illustration will always be able to take you to places you have only dreamed of. It is truly limitless.

3. What are illustrations used for? Custom illustrations are visualizations that can be used to serve a variety of functions, they can expand the idea of a written work conceptually or literally, provide the viewer with additional information and details not covered in text, create human connections by giving faces to characters, and evoke an emotional connection. Illustration can also be used in more technical forms to give visual instruction, detailed scientific examples, and explanations of intangible concepts.

4. How long does it take to create an illustration? The time it takes to create an illustration will vary from illustrator to illustrator. For example, editorial illustrators can adapt well to short deadlines, with timelines ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. They will have created a style for themselves that can translate well to quick turn-arounds. These can be digitally created, have crisp clean lines, and maybe a limited background, whatever media and method it takes for them to work at lightning speeds. On the other end of the spectrum, children’s book illustrators usually have one to two years, per book, to complete their illustrations. Most illustrators will work with your deadline or let you know if they cannot deliver a quality product to you in that time frame.

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