ETHICS TEXTBOOK ILLUSTRATIONS
A series of 13 chapter illustrations and a cover image for a practical ethics textbook published by the University of Tartu. The book is aimed at high school students and first-year university students, so the visuals had to be clear,thought-provoking and age-appropriate.
BRIEF & CHALLENGE
The University of Tartu approached me to illustrate a new practical ethics textbook. The book introduces complex topics – from environmental responsibility and medical ethics to money, power and relationships – to high school students and first-year university students.
My task was to create one illustration for each of the 13 chapters plus a cover image. Each illustration had to capture the core idea of the chapter in a single scene: simple enough to read quickly, but open enough to invite discussion in class.
VISUAL LANGUAGE
To keep the book visually consistent, we decided on a limited visual system:
– hand-drawn, slightly textured line work;
– plenty of white space around the characters;
– one strong accent colour per chapter to separate the topics from each other.
The style sits somewhere between editorial illustration and a quiet comic panel – friendly enough for younger readers, but serious enough to handle topics like healthcare, technology, sexuality and bioethics.
IN PRINT
The illustrations appear at the beginning of each chapter, acting almost like visual “chapter icons”.
In print, the single accent colour helps readers navigate the book quickly – you can recognise a chapter not only by the title, but also by its visual tone.
The textbook has been well received and has also been recognised with an award, which is a nice confirmation that a clear visual system can support heavier philosophical content.
The book also won an award for the “Best Estonian textbook of 2023”.
