BIO: Allen and Susan Crawford founded Plankton Art Company in 1996.

 

As an illustrator, artist, designer, and writer, Allen has worked on a wide array of creative projects: advertising campaigns, editorial illustrations, animations, short films, copywriting, packaging, product design, gallery shows, logos, identity systems, typefaces, and books.

 

Allen and Susan's most notable joint project to date is their series of 400 identification key illustrations for the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life at the American Museum of Natural History. Their keys are on permanent display.

 

BOOKS: Allen wrote, illustrated, and designed The Affected Provincial's Companion (Bloomsbury 2006), which was optioned for film by Johnny Depp's production company, Infinitum Nihil.

 

His latest book, Whitman Illuminated: Song of Myself (Tin House 2014), is an illustrated edition of Walt Whitman's epic poem. The entire 256-page book is written by hand and has won numerous awards, including a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators, and "Best of Show" in 3x3's International Show No.12.

 

FILMS: Allen wrote, directed, edited, and performed in an eight-part series of short films for Hendrick's Gin, in which he praises the hidden virtues of the Seven Deadly Sins. Most recently, he and Susan made an animated TV spot for the Smithsonian National Zoo.

 

AWARDS: Society of Illustrators (gold medal); 3x3 (best in show); American Illustration; Communication Arts; Print; Type Directors Club; Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

 

CLIENTS: Comedy Central, Random House, TBWA Chiat-Day, Knopf, The Lincoln Center Theater, The Rosenbach Museum and Library, American Museum of Natural History, Tin House, QCM, Phish, Le Grand Magistery, The Wagner Free Institute, The Coney Island Museum, and The National Constitution Center.

 

ARCHIVE: Browse through Allen and Susan's back catalog of work at the Plankton Flickr Archive.

 

BLOG: Follow book-related developments, upcoming events, and other news at Allen's blog.

 

CONTACT: allen@allencrawford.net