Botanical Illustration Collection for KAUST CDA
THE CLIENT
The Center for Desert Agriculture is a research center at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) dedicated to the study, engineering, and implementation of sustainable agriculture in extreme environments.
THE PROJECT
THE CDA approached me to create both pen&ink and watercolor botanical illustrations for the plants they study. The intent was to use the artworks in scientific publications as well as in office decor prints and digital marketing materials.
THE SOLUTION
Several months were spent working with professors to gather references, design outcomes, and create a body of work. Scientific botanical illustration requires details to be accurate and to perfect scale, and it was also important to me that the finished project portrayed the beauty and livelihood of the specimen. As each professor's research is concerned with specific attributes of each plant, they provided invaluable feedback about how to visually communicate these aspects.
In addition to delivering a series of artworks on paper, the finished plates were digitized for use as both reprint-able images and vector drawings/paintings. Below are excerpted pages from the brochure created at the end of the project, highlighting the collection.
