Scott Hull Associates

From the spark of an idea to roaring success – we can help you every step of the way.
It works like this:

1. Concept
You tell us about your audience and what we’re trying to show them. Outline the project’s scope and format along with its content and messaging.* We give you visual ideas, usually in the form of black and white sketches that help us explore different approaches.

2. Presentation
Together we fine-tune the idea(s) until we’ve got a solid, strategic visual for the big unveiling to your customer. If needed, and if budget allows, we’ll provide an additional refined sketch or two and make sure we’re good to go.

3. Image Development
The idea is a hit. We’ve addressed any feedback together, addressed any new findings that can help streamline the strategy, and it’s come down to confirming details. Where will the finished art appear? How big? Will we need an online version as well? Are there any offshoot elements that could help the overall cause?

4. Final Art Production
Presto. A brainstorm is transformed into a living, breathing illustration. We both take a step back, try to look at it with fresh eyes and make any last-minute tweaks to keep it perfectly aligned with the original strategy. Now it’s time to pop corks and discuss the next project.

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**1b. Pricing
It’s sometimes the most stressful part of a project, but it doesn’t have to be. Asking the right questions up front can help us maximize your investment in the long run. Here’s some of what we need to know – you’ll talk through a few more details with Scott before we get underway.

Scope
What’s the job description and underlying needs?
What is your customer expecting? (And how can we exceed it?)
Technical stuff – Color or B/W, size, format, etc?
What reference materials will we work from?

Schedule
Current deadlines
Reasonable deadlines
When can we start?

Usage
Is the art making, say, a one-time appearance for an internal presentation, or is it the image that will appear in print, broadcast, online and flown from blimps as the new key to branding a global corporation? That all affects cost too.

It’s a lot of questions, we know. We also know how important it is to get this step right.

For CMYK magazine, it’s all about “bridging the gap between emerging artists and creative professionals.” Linking the two in the latest issue was SHA artist Penelope Dullaghan – she was asked to judge Illustration entries for Volume 48, reviewing work from the “next generation” of image creators.

“I saw pieces that were really strong and imaginative,” Penny says, “…And pieces that felt a little less than inspired. It kind of ran the gamut.” Never one to pull punches, she urged aspiring illustrators to “make every assignment important,” and to “keep pushing until you find an idea that you love.”

That’s what Penelope saw in the best work submitted, and you can see it in this latest Showcase. A piece called simply “Dog,” by Barbara Graetzer of the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC took the top award, and pieces from Ontario College of Art and Design and the School of Visual Arts in New York were also honored. Overall, 26 illustrations, by artists from Savannah to Pasadena, were represented in the Showcase – as was a promising future for the field.

“The pieces that stood out to me…” says Penny, “seemed to truly embrace the assignment. Thinking it through, adding something personal. You could see that the artists loved what they were creating.”

Scott Hull Associates artists share how an infinite variety of feelings can come out of 26 measly characters.

I love typography work because it can allow me to play a little more than my editorial-style illustration. I get to think about what the words mean, the emotion that it needs to portray, and go from there – trying different things until the perfect idea emerges.
-Penelope Dullaghan

Drawing your own type steps your work up a whole other notch. It puts you in complete control of the vibe that your type gives off. You are free to take it wherever you want and you don’t have to rely on the same toolbox that every other designer uses.
-Tim Gough

Type has always been my passion. When I was a senior in high school, I used to steal my older sister’s type specimen catalogs (she was a graphic design student) and use it to draw posters mimicking the endless styles of type. Our local Kroger store even had me painting their front windows and mirrors in the meat department with ad specials and holiday messages. When I went to college, I was introduced to the craft of typesetting and ligature design, so when I graduated as a designer, I treated type in a more formal, classic Bauhaus style.
-Lisa Ballard

What the illustrative lettering artist brings to the table is the recognition of type as art. Once upon a time, all letterforms were created by people who could draw. So rather than assembling and contorting computer generated fonts, as the modern designer does, we approach the lettering design with type’s history in our DNA and the drawing ability to create a unique piece of lettering art.
-Mark Riedy

Curtis Parker – The New Republic

Curtis Parker – Tampa Bay History Center/Christopher Chadbourne Associates

Penelope Dullaghan – Vegetarian Times

German publication, Illustration Index, recently did a four-spread article on Scott Hull Associates illustrator, Penelope Dullaghan. The international book is fashioned after American based books like Type Idea Index, Design Essentials Index, and Color Index, series that are available here in the US.

Interviewed in English by Claudia Herling, then translated into German, Penelope talks about how she first became an illustrator, how she chooses color for different pieces, and some favorite projects worked on. Most of the illustrators featured in the book are living in Germany, so Penelope’s showcase was undeniably an honor.

Penelope has this to say about her international recognition, “I was very flattered that they included my work as an example of art created in the US. I picture all the German people reading this and scratching their heads wondering ‘Where in the world is Indiana, USA?’ ”

Penelope Dullaghan is a quite a busy lady. Between juggling motherhood, a successful and highly trafficked blog (illustrationfriday.com), a yoga obsession, and voraciously creating at all times, she is also a highly recognized and affluent illustrator with Scott Hull Associates. Working with clients that include, Target, Starbucks, United Airlines, the New York Times, LA Times Book Review, Harper Collins, O, The Oprah Magazine, Society of Illustrators, and the Baltimore Sun—she would in no way be considered a novice, despite her relatively young age.

Interviewed by Tiffany Meyer, the Communication Arts magazine article showcases a wide variety of Penelope’s work and gives an intimate glimpse into her charming personality, that is no doubt, a huge part of the reason for her success. “Penny is a delight to work with.” is something we have heard here at SHA more often than not, from very satisfied clients.

When CA chose her for a main feature in the Jan./Feb. issue, Penny was thrilled. She graciously says, “I’m just very grateful to be featured. It’s a huge honor and a milestone in my career. And I’m blessed to have it happen so young in my career as an illustrator.”

Penelope’s illustrations are her signature. You can spot them a mile away. Her sense of the organic is timeless, relevant, and beautiful. Her joyful personality resonates within the pieces she creates.

Part of her continuous artistic renewal is that Penelope takes nothing for granted. She has a very distinct mantra for her life and for her art, “My philosophy is that I’m fortunate to get to do art for a living, and that fortune favors those who bust their butts.”

So far, it’s working famously.

View Artist’s Portfolio