ALLEN CRAWFORD
I'm Allen Crawford. I'm a graphic artist, naturalist, and author. I've worked on a broad range of independent projects over the course of my career, including advertising campaigns, editorial illustrations, animations, videos, packaging, product design, logos, identity systems, typefaces, and books.
My wife Susan Crawford and I founded Plankton Art Company in 1996. We work independently in our own distinct styles, but we occasionally team up on larger projects. Our shared background in biology and conservation has enabled us to work with many prestigious science and education-based institutions. Our most notable joint project to date is the set of identification key illustrations for the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The 400 illustrations of corals, invertebrates, crustaceans, fish, and mammals have been on permanent display in the famous Milstein Hall of Ocean Life for over twenty years.
When I'm not in my studio, I'm out in the New Jersey Pine Barrens where I serve as a part-time trail steward for the New Jersey Park Service. I've recently received my S-130/S-190 wildland firefighter certification from the NJ Forest Fire Service. I'm also a member of NJ Fish and Wildlife's Venomous Snake Response Team.
As a graphic artist my work is meant for reproduction, so I've always used digital tools. But I've never used AI. My clients and patrons come to me for the unique body of knowledge and skills that I've cultivated over time. They want what I can do, not what I can prompt.
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BOOKS:
The Affected Provincial's Companion (Bloomsbury 2006), is a pseudonymous collection of satirical charts and essays. It was optioned for film four times by Johnny Depp's production company, Infinitum Nihil.
My second book, Whitman Illuminated: Song of Myself (Tin House 2014), is an illustrated edition of Walt Whitman's epic poem. The entire 256-page book was written by hand, and has won several awards, including a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators. The drawings and sketches from this project are now permanently archived as the Crawford Collection at the University of Iowa Libraries.
My most recent book, A Wild Promise (Tin House 2023) is a celebration of the Endangered Species Act. It contains over 100 illustrations. The introduction was written by noted conservationist and writer, Terry Tempest Williams. The book has won multiple awards, including the 3x3 International Illustration Show's Gold Cube award.
AWARDS:
Society of Illustrators (Gold); 3x3 International Illustration Show (Gold, Best in Show); American Illustration; Communication Arts; Print; Type Directors Club; Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
CLIENTS:
Comedy Central, Random House, Nickelodeon, Target, TBWA Chiat-Day, Knopf, The Lincoln Center Theater, The Rosenbach Museum and Library, The American Museum of Natural History, The Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, BBH London, Tin House, QCM, Phish, Le Grand Magistery, The Wagner Free Institute, The Coney Island Museum, Friends of the Smithsonian Zoo, and The National Constitution Center.
