I recently illustrated the cover and a bunch of interior illustrations for Bulletin Magazine from Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists.
Not only was this my first published cover illustration, but it was also for a publication close to my heart, as my mum is a speech and language therapist. Growing up, we always had copies of Bulletin magazine floating around the house, so it felt like quite a full-circle moment when I received my copy in the post!
The article I was commissioned to illustrate is all about looking at apprenticeships as an alternative to traditional degrees, to train as a speech and language therapist. Victoria Lundie and Hazel Richards worked with apprentices and mentors at Birmingham City University to explore the pros and cons of apprenticeship-based degrees. For the cover, I was directed to show an apprentice chatting with a mentor, then throughout the main spread of the article I used hands with varying gestures and tools commonly used with SLT work to demonstrate a ‘hands on approach’ that was frequently mentioned with the text. As usual, I drew with a mixture of ethnicities and skin tones to ensure openness and inclusion, and then for the final spot illustration I wanted to suggest a juggling of responsibilities that is required within apprenticeship based learning, such as time-management of personal life alongside studies. 📚