Stem Cell Journal Cover Art
My sister-in-law is a Pulmonary Critical Care Doctor and dedicated Researcher at Boston University. Recently, her team's research garnered recognition with the selection of two scientific papers for publication in the medical journal known as Stem Cell. She reached out to me for assistance in crafting an illustration to be considered as a potential candidate for the journal's cover art.
The initial concept revolves around the transformation of pluripotent stem cells into puzzle pieces seamlessly integrating into damaged lung tissue, symbolizing their healing capabilities. The vibrant green hue in the artwork is derived from the dye employed for identifying these cells.
Below are the initial concepts I had sent over to her team:
We ended up moving forward with the middle concept, so I updated the styling to add more depth and texture. We also dropped the ‘morphing’ cell concept and went with a more subtle puzzle piece texture with a more obvious puzzle piece filling in gaps in the lung illustration. At this stage I also played around with some alternative coloring and some extra styling with the white stroke.
The feedback from here was:
Add the green coloring back to the puzzle pieces
Add in additional missing pieces to show how the cells can target multiple damage sites in the lungs.
Scatter some extra pieces around the lungs
I also added with more depth into the illustration and lightened the background to a more desaturated blue to balance the brighter green of the cells. The final version is below:
Unfortunately, Stem Cell did not pick our cover (the one they chose is awesome and very different). The good news is, my sister-in-law’s team is using my illustration across presentations and other materials.