James Provost - Technical Illustrator » People

A Show of Hands

James Provost — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:41:18 +0000

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…

Augmented Reality Visor

James Provost — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:51:57 +0000

Augmented Reality, or AR, is a general term for manipulating our experience of the world around us with technology. Today it means pointing your smartphone camera at a restaurant and getting reviews. Tomorrow it might mean complete immersion into a customizable version of reality via 3D stereoscopic camera/video headsets.

Augmented Reality View

James Provost — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:45:24 +0000

Defibrillator How-To

James Provost — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:35:32 +0000

Instructional illustration to accompany article describing the use of an AED, or Automated External Defibrillator. For Canadian Family Magazine, AD Jeff Hannaford.

Skiing Buyer’s Guide

James Provost — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:31:01 +0000

Instructional-style illustrations describing avalanche air bags and common ski boot fitting problems. For Outside Buyer’s Guide, AD Cassandra Conner.

Smart Phone Instructions

James Provost — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:34:25 +0000

Instructions for using new wireless products and services, like smart phones and tablets.
For Orange Explore, AD Claire Hayter.

Spring Cleaning

James Provost — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:28:49 +0000

Spring has sprung, so I’ve dusted off some recent work and added it to my technical illustration and infographics portfolios.

Lots more to come—stay tuned!

Car Ergonomics for Seniors

James Provost — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 04:25:36 +0000

Illustration of ergonomic and safety guidelines for senior drivers.
For AAA Living Magazine, AD Chris Ferguson.

3D TV Technology

James Provost — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 22:15:12 +0000

Illustrations explaining the basics of two competing glasses-free 3D display technologies, currently under development by Microsoft and 3M.
For IEEE Spectrum, AD Mike Solita.

ADC Cubed

James Provost — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 17:00:43 +0000

The Art Directors Club is a global organization of creative professionals whose mission is to connect, provoke and elevate visual communicators. The ADC holds an annual competition to acknowledge and celebrate the best minds in the creative industries, awarding them with an ADC Cube. To help promote their 90th call for entries ADC invited artists, including myself, to submit artwork based on a cube template to communicate their message, to Connect, Provoke and Elevate.

Having an affinity for things mechanical, I took elevate literally. An elevator suited the cube template perfectly, so I started there.

Next I wanted to find a visual metaphor that spoke to the role art directors play in challenging creatives and editors to up their game. The phrase elevator pitch came to mind, which refers to a speech given to sell someone on an idea, product or project, in the time it takes to ride an elevator. I wanted the piece to have more depth than just two businessmen speaking in an elevator, so I sought other senses of the word pitch. Among other things, it can mean throwing a baseball, or (chiefly British) a soccer field (football pitch).

Though a baseball metaphor would probably go over better with an American audience, soccer seemed to better suit the challenge/cooperation metaphor I was going for. And football is the world’s game.

All the artwork debuted at ADC Gallery in New York City, and the call for entries should be out soon. Big thanks to Tessar, Nimit and Alexei who challenged me to up my game on this one.

Update: This work has been moved to my editorial illustration portfolio, Textbook Example.