My whiteboard-drawing robot intern, InternBot, and I would like to take a moment to say thanks. Thank you for all the amazing projects, inspiration, creativity and collaboration in 2011.

I feel truly fortunate to be doing what I love to do, and if InternBot had feelings, I’m sure he’d feel the same.

All the best to you & yours in the new year.

Thank you, everyone, for your interest in my illustrated poster for Bre Pettis & Kio Stark’s Done Manifesto, which appeared on FastCoDesign and Lifehacker recently. For similar work, I invite you to check out my editorial illustration portfolio, Textbook Example.

High quality giclée prints of the Done Manifesto poster are available via ImageKind (or ArtFlakes in Europe).

I’ve been fascinated with augmented reality (AR) since learning about projects like Layar and WordLens. These apps combine the camera, GPS, gyros, processing power and constant connectedness of smart phones to add layers of meta-information on top of the world around us.

My interest in this application of technology and information should come as no surprise—technical illustration practically is augmented reality. It makes hidden or obfuscated information visible and intelligible. What might have been buried in a database or engineering drawing is made plain for anyone to see.

What’s especially exciting is seeing all the hardware and software that will make this a reality already out there, just waiting for a novel package. Siri on the new iPhone 4S is just a peek; speech-to-text is nothing new and Wolfram Alpha has been around for a couple of years.

Imagine the combination of the Microsoft Kinect-style 3D camera, stereoscopic 3D video visor, and wireless video streaming to the smartphone in your pocket for processing via AirPlay. All of a sudden, the future seems a lot closer. Your jetpack? It’s right here.

As for goggles-less AR, don’t worry, it’s coming.

I’ve been bound hand and foot over the past couple of months, but now I can tip my hand and share some of what has been keeping my hands busy. Work seems to get handed to me in themes, and if my terrible idioms didn’t hand it to you, lately it’s been hands and feet.

Here are some instructional illustrations I’ve been working on with various clients. Click through for larger images and more information.

Now I just hope I can wash my hands of all these handy expressions…

An ongoing project with the Union of Concerned Scientists just got a write up on the New York Times’ auto blog.

The organization’s Model E crossover is conceived as a platform that can accommodate any one of four propulsion systems. The same body would be expected to house a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, hydrogen fuel-cell or purely electric powertrain. [...] The union plans to add a family car, a compact and a pickup to the Model E lineup. Each vehicle would be relatively inexpensive to build, buy and operate, encouraging wide adoption, according to the group.

More on this as the project wraps up!