Hello! My name is Joanna Bucur and I am a London-based commercial illustrator with experience in research-led visual storytelling and information design.
Thank you for the time to consider my application. I am particularly excited by this commission as it brings together many aspects of my practice. I believe my experience would allow me to make a valuable contribution and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the project further.
Bear Christmas Card / Process Illustration
As an illustrator, it has become a long-standing tradition to send personalised hand-drawn Christmas Cards. Last year, I illustrated one of my grandmother’s biscuit recipes, breaking the process down into simple, easy to follow steps that could be followed by both children and adults. This not only encouraged a fun family activity but also suggested an edible Christmas decoration.
The card was very well received and taught me how to distill information into clear, engaging and accessible illustrations.
Relevant Work Examples
EVO Application / Work aimed at Broad Family Audiences
Examples from the tutorial stage of EVO, an augmented reality application developed in collaboration with Collider Visuals for the Grigore Antipa National Museum of Natural History in Bucharest, Romania. The application encouraged visitors to interact with the museum’s static animal dioramas while learning about evolution. I discuss this further in my written response below.
History of Information / Diagrammatic Storytelling
A personal project illustrating the history of information through a series of sequential images. This project explored how to establish a consistent, clear and legible visual language, alongside a repeatable illustration system that could be applied across multiple historical periods.
How would you approach this type of commission?
For each food product, I would begin by familiarising myself with the supplied information as well as visually researching how each step might look like. Once I gathered and reviewed all the necessary reference material, I would start creating rough spot illustrations for each stage, exploring the clearest and most engaging way to communicate the process. Based on the milk process example, I envision these illustrations will be a mix of simplified technical drawings with infographic style icons and potentially a unisex character (such as the Ikea figure), drawn in a warm, clear watercolour and ink style, either traditionally or digitally.
