Talking Matters, a small for-purpose organization dedicated to fostering language-rich environments for young children in their first 1000 days, partnered with daylight to develop a set of engaging and playful illustrations for their 14 tips.
Our aim was to create a distinct artistic style that captured the perspective of a child through distorted perspectives in the scenes. To enhance the narrative, we exaggerated certain features of the characters: enlarged eyes and ears represented attentive listening and observation, while enlarged mouths and hands symbolized communication and gestures. In addition, we incorporated meta-narratives using colored pencil linework to depict iconography resembling children's artwork. These elements conveyed the exchange of ideas and the formation of thoughts in each scene, providing context for the characters' discussions, expansions, and inferences. The colored pencil technique also added subtle tonal variations, infusing a human touch that contrasted with the bold, organic, flat-color shapes comprising each scene. Furthermore, it was crucial for the illustrations to showcase a diverse range of New Zealanders, including individuals of various ethnicities, ages, sexualities, and relationships.
