AOI 50th Anniversary – Here for the members!

Membership services have long been at the core of the AOI’s structure (we’re here to help illustrators!), and over time the services have evolved to assist members in all their business dealings.

In this piece we’re celebrating the AOI’s 50th Anniversary, and what the organisation has done for members from our beginnings in 1973.

Varoom 42: Activity, Essence and Spirit

Joanna Spicer has been drawing her twins and posting on Instagram since their birth. In Varoom 42 Anna Steinberg talks to her about this markable record that captures the animation of young children without sentimentality.

Varoom 41: The Cover

Matthew Richardson created the artwork for the cover of the No Narrative issue of Varoom in four varied colourways. We asked him about his concept and process.

Varoom 41: Hervé Tullet’s Simple Ideas

Hervé Tullet tells Varoom about how his book art is created for interactive play in the No Narrative issue. In this extract he talks about his background and how his work is driven by elementary ideas.

Varoom 41: Making Faces

Illustration has been used for centuries in the criminal justice system as an important tool. In the No Narrative issue of Varoom (issue 41), Katie McCurrach tracks the role of image-making in criminal identification from sketching to EvoFIT.

Varoom 41: Word Activism

In this excerpt from Varoom 41(No Narrative issue), Tristan Manco explains how Tano Veron’s typographic works stand out in today’s visually saturated society

Varoom 41: Flora and Fungi

In this excerpt from Varoom 41 Katie Scott reveals the process behind her botanical project with Kew Gardens.

Varoom 41: Cutting Through

Visualising complicated information is a skill, but also a creative practice. In this excerpt from Varoom 41, Derek Brazell talks to Grundini and Delayed Gratification magazine to see how information graphics can help us understand the world around us.

Varoom 41: Michelle Rial

A chart maker who previously worked as senior designer at BuzzFeed News and as a writer/illustrator for BuzzFeed, Michelle Rial’s new book Am I Overthinking This? is subtitled Over-answering life’s questions in 101 charts. With Varoom 41 themed on No Narrative, we talk to her about how her smart, witty charts are created and how her ‘real life charts’ evolved.