Randal Birkey illustrated this Aiwa car stereo unit for an ad agency in the early 1980’s.
Aiwa Car Stereo - Technical Line Illustration
Aiwa Car Stereo
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Category Archives: Product Illustration
City Furniture Product Illustrations
City Furniture
Randal created this series of line art drawings for City Furniture, a Chicago furniture retailer, for use in print materials. They specialized in the modern Bauhaus style.
Closet Maid Organization Products
A Closet Maid closet rendered in black & white "Stipple" style
Randal was contracted by an ad agency to illustrate the Closet Maid system of closet organizing products in a line art style suitable for newspaper print ad use. Randal generated a number of closet views rendered in black & white “stipple” style. This illustration method involves creating a thin ink line outline, the filling in the shading with thousands of small dots, made by hand placing a Rapidograph ink pen down and then up for each dot. Stipple is quite time consuming, however, it reproduces exceptionally well in newsprint.
Closet Maid product illustration - detail of Stipple style
How to Build a Better Sportshirt
Randal did this catalog spread illustration and detail insets for Lands’ End, a catalog retailer located in Dodgeville, Wisconsin on “How to Build a Better Sportshirt.” The spread illustrated the superior way in which Lands’ End men’s sportshirts are constructed and designed.
How to Build a Better Sportshirt - Lands' End
Wilson Sporting Goods
Randal was contracted by Wilson Sporting Goods to do a series of illustrations for their tennis product catalog. Each racquet in the catalog featured a cutaway illustration showing the layers and materials used in its construction. Each illustration was done by hand with pencil and color pencil on 100% cotton drafting vellum for that “techie” look.
Wilson Tennis Racquet Cross-Section and Cutaway
Exploded View Diagram
Exploded View Diagram of an Engine Head
Exploded View Diagram of Automotive Engine Head
Exploded view diagrams are very useful for communicating technical information is an easy to understand manner. They show various parts and pieces of a manufactured item or product in a “pulled apart” manner, with lines and visual aids to help the viewer understand where each part fits, and sometimes even in what order. In this case, an engine head is shown with the gasket, and various pins, washers, springs, seals and plugs extended away and in line with where they fit.
This particular technical exploded view diagram is done in a “pen and ink” style, and can easily be replicated in a vector-based software program like Adobe Illustrator.
Bank Toolbox
Toolbox Illustration for Cole Taylor Bank ad
CLIENT
Cole Taylor Bank
Chicago, Illinois
OBJECTIVE
Cole Taylor Bank required an image of a toolbox to use in a conceptual ad campaign, designed to attract new commercial customers to the bank.
SOLUTION
Cole Taylor Bank contracted with Randal Birkey through his Chicago artist rep, to provide an illustration of an open toolbox on a blueprint paper background. This image was supplied to the bank’s ad agency who dropped in the ad headline and copy over it. The toolbox drawers and compartments represented various services and products offered by the bank to commercial customers.
Contact Randal Birkey for all your advertising illustration needs.
Chicago Creative Sourcebook Ad
Chicago Creative Sourcebook ad
In the early 1980′s, Randal Birkey started his freelance illustration career. At that time, one of the best ways to advertise illustration and get new work, was in the Chicago Creative Sourcebook, published in Northbrook, Illinois.
Randal created this ad as his first entry into the Chicago illustration market. He used a pen and ink image of a 1950′s Ford Pickup truck that he himself had restored. He created a grid and a side view of the truck to use as a background.
With the help of friend and designer, Rich Nickel, the type, fonts and layout were assembled into the final ad.
Contact Randal Birkey Illustration for all your architectural and technical illustration needs.
Product Illustration of Larressingle Armagnac
Product Illustration of Larressingle Armagnac
CLIENT
New York city ad agency
OBJECTIVE
A New York ad agency required a product illustration of Larressingle Armagnac for newspaper advertising use.
SOLUTION
Through his New York artist rep, Randal Birkey was contracted to prepare a line art illustration of the Larressingle Armagnac product. The art was completed by hand in a pen and ink style and a high resolution copy delivered to the client.
Contact BIRKEY.COM for all your product advertising illustration needs.
Desquam Logo Illustration
CLIENT
Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Park, IL
Desquam Logo Illustration
OBJECTIVE
Abbott required a new pharmaceutical product logo illustrated in a technical “blue-print” look to help communicate the “cutting edge technology” used in the product development, and to aid in brand positioning.
SOLUTION
Randal Birkey created the logo in a technical software drawing environment, adding the paper textures and construction lines. The composite file was delivered to the client for placement into standard graphic design software.
Contact Randal about your illustrated logo needs.