Scott Hull Associates

An interview with the artist

Client: Thriving Family magazine

Art Director: Lexie Rhodes

Title of Project: Finding Friends as a Mother

Target Audience: Parents/families

What was the creative challenge? The magazine needed someone to capture the sense of two mothers sharing stories and companionship and represent it in an illustrative way.

How did you resolve the challenge? The art director had seen an older piece of mine which evoked the feeling and mood she was envisioning for this project. Pairing that with the new concept we came up with helped me pull it all together. Using a collage-style illustration, I was able to communicate visually just what they had in mind.

Share a little insight into your creative process? Having two children myself, I could personally relate to the article, so that part was easy. The concept of a shared speech balloon popped into my head out of the blue, like a lot of the concepts I end up using. The art director really wanted to see the mothers and perhaps a child in the illustration, so this provided a good way for me to incorporate both.

Lexie’s response to the finals was emphatic: “I am in love with these! They are truly beautiful.”

An interview with art director Shelley Frayer

Title of Project: Psyched for Surgery

Target audience: More magazine is geared towards celebrating women over 40.

What was the creative challenge? The challenge was to address the issue of trying to emotionally and mentally prepare for surgery. Our basic direction to Lorraine was to somehow create a tranquil scene within what would typically be considered a stringent and clinical environment

How did Lorraine resolve the challenge? She combined the yoga pose with a woman lying on a surgery table, thus transforming the table with visually calming and meditative elements. The patient looks at peace and in control, the subtlety of the surgical elements further supports the idea of suppressing your fears before surgery.

Describe the final outcome of the project: It looks great! I’m so glad we finally had the chance to work together, since I’ve been admiring Lorraine’s work for some time. She was the perfect choice for the assignment and she was an absolute pleasure to work with. I hope to work with her again soon.

This past year, art director for Phinney/Bischoff Design House, Dean Hart contacted Scott Hull Associates looking for someone to take on the task of creating branding images for Seattle law firm Riddell Williams. Lorraine Tuson was carefully chosen and excitedly took on the task of not only re-designing and creating a promotional brochure; but creating the visuals for their entire brand. And she nailed it.

Riddell Williams representative Sheri Meyer says, “We were proud to send Lorraine’s work to clients and received positive feedback from members of our firm. She was very open to capturing my concept for her illustration, and eagerly received my direction, instruction, critique, etc. It was a fabulous experience.”

The firm needed something that would evoke a feeling rather than just be overtly content driven. They wanted images that conveyed their philosophy, approach, and goals using a series of words that would be put together an informative, quality promotional package in the form of a brochure. They also wanted the series to focus around a ‘circle’ theme. A circle being a powerful symbol of life, unity, and process—all elements that Riddell Williams strives to exemplify through their practice. The firm provides services to national and international companies who have very high-end clients, so an impressive presentation in marketing is crucial. Lorraine tells us that it was a great job for her since it stretched her as a conceptual illustrator. And ever the evolving artist, she thrives off a challenge.

Stouffers is introducing a new line of foods for their Institutional Line. They developed 2 lines; a high end menu and a “comfort” food menu. The design group for Stouffers, Deep Group, challenged Lorraine Tuson to help them develop a brand for this line that will be used on all their print promotions. The illustrations would provide a backdrop and function on a decorative level to provide a cohesive message for each line. Being a firm that strives to always look at art in a unique way, they needed something to compliment the photography and give it an extra level of interest and sophistication.

So Lorraine decided that simple graphic ideas of close cropping, varied composition, and a single color palette would open up a myriad of possibilities for this job. She also provided a large number of spot images for each section. For example, a fireplace for the ‘comfort’ food and a candlestick and candle for the artisan line. The quantity and variety of her ideas gave lots of options to play around with and ultimately, the spots were used in different colors and different sizes and placements. They provided some content and a lot of graphic appeal. To further meet the needs of this brief she worked only in black and white. A rare occurrence for her, but welcome nevertheless.

Lorraine explains, “It’s always great to collaborate with designers that have a vision of how to work outside the box with your imagery. Having a background in design I often see the potential for play and am always open for challenges. All ideas are welcome and the possibilities ultimately, are never ending.”