This event took place on 5 October, in Manhattan: a roundtable discussing design and illustration from a global perspective. A select group of experts gathered to debate and discuss the topic: Steven Guarnaccia, Professor Emeritus at Parsons School of Design; Janna Morishima Literary Agent and founder of Kids Comics Unite; Mohammed Al Alsha Shaibani, Creative Director, Sandstorm, The Abu Dhabi Government’s comics studio; Anne Moore Armstrong, The Bright Agency; Kirk Benshoff, Associate Creative Director, First Second Books, and Jacks Thomas, Guest Director, BolognaBookPlus moderating.
In a time when images from everywhere are available anywhere at any time, national identity in illustration is eroding. Illustration didn’t usually travel far. The computer and social media have made it not just possible, but desirable to commission and promote illustrations from and to anywhere in the world. Influence in design and illustration travels quickly: it is everywhere influenced by every image available online.
The discussion covered a wide range of topics including: the challenges and opportunities in design and illustration in a digital world; current trends; how design travels across geographies and cultures; the democratisation of illustration, and is there almost a standardized grammar and syntax of Illustration?