Diversifying Illustrations:
Some Points to Keep in Mind

• Avoid sterotyping.

• Ask for help and opinions from people who may be directly affected by the subject of the illustration. For example, ask women for their points of view about an illustration on breast cancer.

• Sometimes, illustrating the emotion rather than a literal image of a story is more powerful.

• There are cases in which showing a specific race or gender is essential to illustrate the story. To illustrate something about slavery in America, for example, it could be necessary to show a person of African descent. To illustrate something about American Indians, it could be necessary to show a Native American.To illustrate something about the Chinese New Year, it may be necessary to show a person of Chinese descent, etc.

• Sometimes, negative images cannot be avoided, but balance their use with positive images as often as possible.

• Make an effort to include women and minority races in illustrations as a matter of course rather than showing them only when they're needed to make a particular point.

-- Kenneth Harrison

Kenneth Harrison is a nationally award-winning illustrator for The Times-Picayune in New Orleans.He has created illustrations for such publications as Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.