Senior Illustrator

WHAT YOU WILL DO  

We seek a motivated and creative individual with a passion for the impact sector. This role is for an experienced illustrator and visual thinker who is curious, exploratory, and comfortable working across different illustration styles and mediums. You should be open to experimenting with new visual approaches, incorporating feedback, and adapting your illustration style based on the audience and project needs — including working with realistic or detailed visual styles when required.

You will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of designers, public health experts, writers, medical experts, filmmakers, and behavioural researchers to create medically accurate, culturally sensitive, and engaging visual communication.

• Own illustration projects from initial brief and visual research through concept development to final production, ensuring high-quality visual outputs.
• Translate complex health and behavioural concepts into clear, engaging, and culturally relevant visual stories for diverse audiences.
• Conduct visual and contextual research across different regions of India to accurately represent people, environments, clothing, objects, behaviours, and cultural nuances.
• Conceptualise and develop characters, scenes, environments, expressions, and other visual elements for print, digital, animation, and multimedia projects.
• Explore different illustration styles, techniques, and mediums based on project needs, and adapt comfortably between stylised and more realistic visual representations when required.
• Develop character explorations, illustration styles, storyboards, and visual directions based on project objectives and audience needs.
• Collaborate with Visual Design, Film, Storytelling, Content, Medical, Research, and Behavioural teams to ensure outputs are visually effective, contextually relevant, and medically accurate.
• Incorporate feedback constructively and iterate on visual approaches while maintaining strong illustration fundamentals and quality.
• Provide creative direction and constructive feedback to other illustrators, freelancers, and external creative partners when required.
• Participate in field visits, user testing, and visual validation to understand how illustrations are interpreted by intended audiences and iterate based on learnings.
• Build and maintain illustration systems, character libraries, visual references, and reusable assets to improve consistency and scalability across projects.
• Explore and leverage AI-powered illustration tools and emerging technologies to improve workflow efficiency while maintaining originality, contextual accuracy, and visual quality.
• Independently manage multiple projects, communicate timelines and dependencies proactively, and ensure high-quality delivery within agreed timelines.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• 5+ years of professional illustration experience, preferably within a creative studio, agency, design consultancy, social impact organisation, or similar environment.
• A strong and diverse portfolio demonstrating illustration craft, character design, environments, visual storytelling, and multiple illustration styles across print and/or digital media.
• Excellent drawing fundamentals, including a strong understanding of human anatomy, proportion, perspective, composition, colour, expressions, and visual hierarchy.
• Strong ability to interpret a brief and develop an appropriate visual direction rather than relying solely on a predefined illustration style.
• Ability to represent diverse people, cultures, environments, and lived experiences with sensitivity and attention to detail.
• Strong visual research skills and an ability to distinguish between references, assumptions, and culturally accurate representation.
• Experience with character development, storyboarding, sequential storytelling, and/or illustration for animation is an advantage.
• Proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and relevant digital illustration tools.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted creative tools and an understanding of how to use them responsibly within an illustration workflow.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision while communicating effectively with multidisciplinary stakeholders.
• Experience reviewing illustration work and providing clear, constructive creative feedback.
• Strong organisation and time-management skills with the ability to maintain consistency across large volumes of illustrations.
• Genuine curiosity about designing for diverse audiences, particularly people with low literacy and communities in rural or resource-constrained settings.
• Interest in human-centred design, healthcare, and using illustration to create meaningful social impact.
• Willingness to travel to the field for contextual research, observation, testing, and validation.