I’m Linda Lönnqvist, and Development Cartoons is my illustration business – the fusion of my lifelong drawing habit with my international development career.
Development Cartoons is for communicators in international development, social enterprises or civil society who want to boost our written messages with images. Having been on both the commissioning and drawing end of communications, I understand what it is to be a client. My job is to read your materials and understand your message, and then to reinterpret it visually – often giving it an extra twist – to create a good-looking, snazzy image that will capture your reader’s attention and get your message across.
I’ve worked in international development since 2003 on four continents and started illustrating reports while a researcher at the NGO INTRAC.
An early book illustration: Consider the context when planning M&E.
I’ve worked in civil society support and economic policy advocacy which means that I’ve thought hard about participation, ownership, monitoring, budgeting and project planning, learning, politics, economics, partnership, livelihoods, rights, the environment… and I have ideas on how to express these issues in images. Since I’ve lived in developing countries (UK, Cyprus, Bangladesh, Mexico, Turkey and Tanzania) and have travelled extensively, I also know what people’s everyday lives look like in these contexts.
Another specialisation of mine is faclitating drawing as a group activity: be it sketching sports or relaxing at an event by colouring in pictures related to your organisation’s themes. As we know, both kids and adults like to colour, and it is a great way to combine something fun with something serious. I created nine colouring-in pictures for a youth activity book, reinterpreting ancient themes for the reality of young people today – a very gratifying project.
Colouring: Who’s having coffee at Zacchaeus’ place?
