My 12th Anniversary with NYC Outward Bound

This is the 12th consecutive year that I have illustrated the cover of the invitation for the New York City Outward Bound annual benefit celebration. NYCOB works with the NYC Department of Education to create “a network of schools in the City that are based on the principles and practices of Outward Bound”. I greatly enjoy my relationship with NYCOB. I believe in their mission as they work to improve the public school system in NYC, and I look forward to hearing from them each spring.

There are some exciting aspects to these covers that don’t come into play often with my editorial work. I assume the role of both designer and illustrator. To convey the mission of the organization, there are text and other requirements that need to be integrated into the cover artwork.

This year’s cover is the most satisfying to me so far. As a new twist to the format, I designed the cover with a circular cut-out in the center (the scene of the children and school prints on the inside of the back cover).

Seeing these invitations is a nice way to chart the progress of my work over the last twelve years. I hope I’ll continue working with NYCOB for years to come.

Here are some invitations from previous years: