The Ultimate Guide to Using Illustration for Humanitarian & Environmental Purpose, Travel, and Impact
- Kelly Wallace
- Apr 15
- 9 min read
Updated: Apr 21
Bangkok was quieter than it had ever been in March 2020. From my little apartment in the city, COVID traded the bustle of street cart vendors for the gentle hum of essential workers. I didn’t know that the days of quarantine would create space for me to find the work I now love so much: illustration. I passed the time cooking meals for one, taking endless laps around downstairs, and hoping each day that the Thai food delivery guys were still working. News changed daily. Doom scrolling was king. But one afternoon, I came across an illustrator on Instagram, and things brightened.
She drew a world that we were all dreaming of from the confinement of our homes. With her illustrations, her followers went on little journeys- to rolling deserts, pretty kitchens with ample coffee, and tropical vacations. It felt like coming to life in days of monotony. As divisions set into the US, she penned resolutions of unity. When no one could travel, she illustrated new places for us to explore. I felt the creative inspiration bubble up inside me and thought,
“If I could even learn to illustrate an ounce of the way she does, it’d be worth it”.
This guide talks about how illustration can be used for good. I’m not the expert as much as I’ve lived this reality. Whether your impact is brightening someone's day or catalyzing a movement for clean water, it can all be used for the good of others. Art directors, fellow creatives, or just curious adventurers looking to incorporate illustrations for global good, you’re in the right place.
In this guide, we’ll cover:
Why Illustration & Purpose-Driven Adventure Belong Together
Can Illustration Really Make a Difference?
3 Real-Life Examples of Purpose-Driven Illustrators
Tips for Fruitful Collaboration Between Illustrators & NGOs
Ethics in Illustration for Humanitarian and Environmental Impact
How To Get Started & Encouragement for the Journey
Why Illustration & Purpose-Driven Adventure Belong Together
We’re often told we’re the heroes of our own stories. I love many things about traveling, but if I had to choose one: travel reminds me how small I am in a big world. We’re fish in an ocean where everyone is also the hero of their own stories. I need that reminder.
Artists want to create work that resonates with people. It’s great (and necessary sometimes) to create for yourself. But to finish projects that transform perspectives and leave people feeling seen? You have to find common threads and be in people’s corners- not just the center of your own story. No one will experience the world exactly the same- in the same places, with the same people, at the same time. Even photos taken by people at the same place will be different with the timing of the leaves falling or the movement of a cloud. How much more so with illustration?
Illustration is simply storytelling. Whether you’re exploring a new coffeeshop across town or traveling to a city across the world, there are stories that only you will experience. But in our fast-paced lives, we haven’t trained ourselves to look for them. Illustrating adventures- no matter how near or far- causes us to pause and look for stories. Unlike photography that rightly captures a story as it is, illustration builds a world from scratch. You take the stories you experience and weave your interpretation into a drawing that will resonate with others.
We need each other’s stories. They’re how we learn, develop empathy, and realize our common humanity. So let us slow down as we explore, and let the space inspire creativity. Let us lean into our days by illustrating stories, remembering moments, and learning. And most of all, let us be open enough to see the stories around us instead of just our own. This is key to illustration for humanitarian and environmental impact.
Can Illustrations Really Make a Difference?
Most of what I know about environmental sustainability, I’ve learned through photos. Whether it’s a poster at Patagonia or World Conservation Week on Instagram, people have really done their work grabbing my attention with visual activism. Our brains are wired to process information up to 60,000x faster through visuals versus writing. So it’s no surprise that if you want to tell a meaningful story, having a visual element is key to catching people’s attention and supplementing words.
“All seven species of turtles are considered threatened or endangered.” (Seeturtles.org). Reading it is one thing. It may or may not “stop the scroll”. But with illustrations, you can foster a movement. With campaigns that highlight the species of turtles or t-shirts designs where kids can rally around saving the sea turtles and parts of the proceeds go to seat turtle conservation, the cause comes to life and we wear it around our friends & family.
Humanitarian causes can pose a different challenge. Picture this: you’re trying to capture stories through photos of poverty alleviation, clean water initiatives, or a refugee camp. You do have a storytelling visual. But you’ve hit a wall. It doesn’t feel right to snap the shutter on the hungry children. Or the neighborhood folks with a new clean water well don’t feel comfortable signing the waiver to share their photo online.
Illustrations complement words (and even existing visuals) to bring the story home. To fill in the gaps and even build a dream of what the world could look like. A world where no sea turtles are endangered, and every community has access to clean water.
Art can shape how we see the world. So, think to yourself:
How do you want to see the world become a better place?
What would it feel like?
How would lives be changed because of it?
If you can communicate that transformation and the emotional connection that results from it, you’re creating purpose-driven art for change.
3 Real-Life Examples of Purpose-Driven Illustration
If you’re like me and need a visual yourself, here are 3 real-life examples of people bringing attention to humanitarian and environmental efforts through their illustrations.
Sarah DeYoung (@sarcreate) is a Hawaii-based artist whose love for being on the water has always influenced her art style. When the hurricanes hit Maui, she illustrated strength: the Maui that people knew and loved. Her art allowed people to rally around the cause, and even informed people of what parts of Maui were open and closed.
In times of disaster, people are looking for beacons of hope that remind them they're not alone. Sarah's work is a great example of that! You can find her art at sarcreate.com
Dani Coke Balfour (@ohhappydani) is an artist and activist who creates art about living a more just and hopeful life. She aims to inspire everyday advocates (like you!) to do good daily, right where they are. I found Dani's work in 2020 when tensions were high in the U.S., and I loved how her art promoted unity and hope in a time of division. She continues to release beautiful work that reminds others that they're seen and not alone. See more of her art at ohhappydani.com
Asia Orlando (@asiaorlando_) is a digital illustrator with a passion for art and the environment. Animals and nature are a huge inspiration for her since environmental causes are close to my heart. In 2020, she founded the illustration movement Our Planet Week to spread environmental awareness through art- now a global annual illustration event. You can find her work at asiaorlando.com!
And as a bonus, one of my favorite ways to create purpose-driven illustrations? Partnering with organizations doing meaningful work. I had the privilege of working with a dream company, charity:water, whose mission is to end the global water crisis in our lifetime. They've been a pioneer in the NGO space for their commitment to transparency in their water projects and finances. I illustrated a diorama of a real water project that was sent to their major donors. I loved their creative take on a meaningful gift for people who care so much about getting clean water to communities around the world! See the full project here.
Who has inspired you in the humanitarian or environmental space? Collect illustrations from people who inspire you and analyze why you're drawn to them. The colors? The phrases? How a cause's story is shown? When you write down what resonates with you and find common themes, you can use those to create your own original illustrations.
*Reminder- all of our creativity is built on the work of other creators. We're always creating from what we're inspired by. However, never directly copy another creator's work and claim it as your own. By finding common themes and patterns in what resonates with you from other creatives' work, you're able to then incorporate those themes into your work in a way that's uniquely yours.
4 Tips for Fruitful Collaboration Between Illustrators & NGOs
Choose causes that resonate with you. It's much easier to brainstorm and draw what you're passionate about. You're also more likely to the subject matter more deeply which will make your stories stronger and more personal.
Do your research. Whether you're an illustrator or an organization looking to hire an illustrator, doing your research on the front-end will make for a stronger result. Knowing an illustrator's portfolio and their process (at least what they share online!) will help you know what to expect and which of their pieces you want to lean on as inspiration for your own project. Illustrators' research of organizations can put them miles ahead in understanding brand voice, values, and goals in order to work that into the project. The end goal? All parties come away feeling seen, understood, and proud of what they created together.
Make the process seamless by preparing well. One organization sent me a full brief for the illustration project I was hired for- complete with story, mood boards, target audience, purpose, timeline, and the dimensions they needed. I was so impressed and this preparation on their end made my work stronger and more efficient because I knew exactly what they were looking for. We had few minor revisions and were able to finish the project quickly! On my end, I sent them my drafts with my thought process of why I illustrated the way I did, the colors I chose, etc. instead of just the final illustrations. This way they caught the full vision and had almost zero edits!
Be social. Rallying around common causes paves the way for great rapport not only for illustrators and NGO's, but also the community that will catch the vision from your campaigns. So, show people the work and faces behind the final product! Create collaboration posts on social media, write blogs about the process, post photos of real humans wearing or showing the art, respond to people's comments who are moved by the pieces. In a digital world, let the space where illustrations are shown feel human. We're all in this together, and when people feel connected to your cause and art? Everybody wins.
Ethics in Purpose-Driven Illustration
The beauty of illustration is that you have more flexibility than photography permission slips, travel bans, or conservation protections may allow. But not everything that can be drawn, should.
I always think to myself- if a person saw this portrayal of themselves, would they feel dignity? Would they want to show it to their friends and family or hang it in their home? If you're illustrating a certain person in particular, you make sure you still have their permission and that the work honors them. Get their consent in writing. Consent forms can be found with the click of a keyboard on Google, so do the work upfront to make sure all parties feel confident in the project!
So, what if it's not one person in particular being illustrated? Maybe your original characters are refugees or marginalized kids. I still want anyone part of those communities to look at an illustration and see a version of themselves that is both true and brings them dignity. It's not realistic that every illustration of conservation and humanitarian efforts will be sunshine and rainbow. Sometimes it is tough to capture that middle ground between reality and hope. But that's an illustrator's job- to find that story and tell it in a way that other mediums can't.
If you're stuck on whether or not an illustration is culturally sensitive, run it by a couple of people from that group and get their input. It may even help you build a deeper story into the illustration!
Getting Started in Illustration for Humanitarian & Environmental Travel Impact & Encouragement for the Journey
In our world where we often fall asleep exhausted from the noise of advertisements and chaos of change, let us bring beauty and hope through our creativity. As humans, we're drawn to art. We want to decorate our homes with photos of the people we love. We want to put quippy stickers from our favorite companies on our water bottles. We wear clothes that make us feel like- well, us. Art and design will always influence who are as people.
So, there is space for art even in 2025. Art that is thoughtful and personal- with story and personality that AI could never render. Let us bring our creativity out into the light and use it for the good of the world.
One of my favorite quotes is, "A year ago from now, you'll wish you started today".
What will you start today?
