In this exercise I am going to write a brief for an image that Chris Ware created.  I have chosen this illustration because it is relevant to the health crisis we are experiencing globally.  First, I will give some insight into Chris Ware’s background, style and creative process, after which I will present the brief and reveal the illustration. 

Who is Chris Ware?

Chris Ware is one of the most esteemed American cartoonists today.  He is also a writer and has contributed graphic fiction covers to The New Yorker since 1999.  He is the author of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, which won the Guardian Prize in 2000 and Building Stories, which was chosen as a Top Ten fiction book by both the Times and Time in 2012.

Chris Ware’s Visual Style

His style is described in The New Yorker as follows:

“Ware’s visual style recalls the clean-lined perfectionism of “Tintin,” the classic adventure strip by the Belgian Hergé (Georges Rémi, 1907-83), whose book-length stories qualify as graphic novels avant la lettre, but it is far more varied in design, with densely rhythmic layouts of small and large panels and of close-up and long views, and it is subtler in color, with moody, volatile pastels.” (Schjeldahl, 2005)

Chris Ware’s Creative Process

In an interview with Bren Byrne, Director of Offset Dublin, Chris Ware described his creative process as follows. “I draw in non-photo blue pencil, a nostalgic holdover from the analog days of my youth, and after four days or so when I’ve finished writing the page, I ink it using a synthetic sable hair watercolor brush (series 795 Loew-Cornell #2) and a mixture of inks I’ve been concocting as that industry slowly dries up.

Then I scan in the original drawing and colour separate it as mechanically as possible in Photoshop using only cyan, magenta and yellow, trying to keep the hues as perceptually opaque as the black line work is conceptually transparent (unless I’m writing something that tries to capture the flow of memory and recollection, in which case I’ll visually approach it any number of ways.)  I do keep sketchbooks — one regular one, one ink-only comic strip diary (since 2002), a colour comic strip dream diary, a second regular one (in case the other regular one is in another part of the house) and a fifth studio one which is largely notes for sculptures and other nonsense.” (Hassell, 2018)

The Brief

It is March 2020, and the world is in a health crisis.  The New Yorker magazine’s annual health issue is in April, and the pandemic had to be the topic for the cover.  This specific theme should focus on the families of the healthcare workers on the front line of the crisis.  Most doctors and nurses have children and families of their own and sacrifice their time and risk their health to help those in need.  The pandemic is on everybody’s mind, but people need to be made aware of sacrifices made by health workers. There is no text description, so the visual narrative should communicate the message as intended. 

Your clean-lined style and graphic novel background will be ideal for this illustration.  The attention should be drawn to the families of the health care workers by using composition, layout and hierarchy to guide the eye.  The finished piece could either be digital medium or ink.  Both mediums are appropriate to achieve the message.

The Message

The message is to create awareness and appreciation for the sacrifices made by the health workers.  There is goodness in the midst of this pandemic.  The keyword is THANKFULNESS.  The colours should be clear and the lines clean and precise to reflect the medical field, order and hope. The mood should be hopeful.  The audience is well-educated adults who read for pleasure.

The Outcome

The outcome of the brief is an art print.  See figure 1, the April 6, 2020 Issue of The New Yorker. (Condé Nast, 2021)

References:

Schjeldahl, P., 2005. Words and Pictures. The New Yorker, Issue October 17, 2005. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/10/17/words-and-pictures

Hassell, L., 2018. Inky Goodness. [Online] 
Available at: http://inkygoodness.com/features/offset-dublin-interview-comic-artist-chris-ware/
[Accessed 15 August 2021].

Condé Nast, 2021. Condé Nast Store. [Online] 
Available at: https://condenaststore.com/featured/bedtime-chris-ware.html?product=art-print
[Accessed 20 August 2021].

The New Yorker, 2020. The New Yorker. [Online] Available at: https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/2020-04-06/flipbook/CV1/