EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION
Scientists from EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY are studying the vital ecological relationship between dugongs and seagrass ecosystems on the Western Australian coastline. Dugongs aren’t just gentle sea mammals, but active caretakers of their environment with surprisingly sophisticated behaviour.
As part of their educational outreach, they were publishing an article in Frontiers for Young Minds and wanted illustrations that could connect with younger readers.
GOAL: Create a set illustrations for a young audience that spark curiosity and imagination while exploring the ecological role of dugongs.
I created a series of playful, character-driven editorial illustrations designed to visually support and expand the article's storytelling: a dugong farmer, a dugong detective, and diagram of dugong’s seagrass dispersal method.
By blending imaginative character design with real science, the visuals invite readers to see marine biology through a lens of story and play.
The final artwork has been used by ECU for multiple science presentations including conferences in Perth, Melbourne, and Italy. It has also been featured in Frontiers for Young Minds, where the article had a significantly boost in engagement compared to previous publications.
Read the article here.
NICOLE SAID - Postdoctoral Research Fellow at ECU
