10 Years On the Road
Last month marked my 10 year anniversary illustrating Joe Sharkey’s On the Road column in the New York Times. I really can’t believe it lasted this long. As I have mentioned here before, Joe and I do this job over the weekend without an art director, and our wonderful editor only sees the final spot art on Monday morning when it’s due. It’s been a great run and in all these years we’ve never had so much as a hiccup in our process. As I post this recap of some of my favorite spots, I want to say thank you again to Joe Sharkey for such a great weekly assignment, and to Steve Heller, who recommended me for it way back when…
When we started this column, it was a black and white page. Color only came when there needed to be a version for the web, and since then the printed page has gone from black and white to color and back again. This first oldie from the pre-color days was about how people are perceived differently at airport checkpoints; then products targeting road-weary and jet-lagged travelers; finally, the first of many spots to come about the costs associated with air travel:
One of the biggest challenges of illustrating this column for so long is that we inevitably encounter the same topics. Here are some examples of subjects we’ve tackled twice or more, starting with wi-fi on airplanes:
Rebounding business for hotels:
Collecting receipts for expense reports:
The new yellow light traffic cams:
Taxes associated with travel:
And all the many ways the airlines try to cram more people and bags onto planes:
Probably one of the biggest recurring themes is the TSA. Here are six from the many weeks where airport security made the news – Body scanners; concerns about radiation from body scanners; change of leadership at the TSA; new ways to move people more quickly through security; TSA freeze drills at checkpoints; Clear program expands to expedite security checks:
Here are some spots from news of the day that came and went – Swine flu concerns on airplanes; airlines ban use of seat-back pockets for personal items; disgruntled airline attendants:
Joe has had his time wasted by the providers of all manner of transportation. Here are a few spots about that – Taking a little engine that could up the east coast; the summer of runway delays; planes grounded by snowstorms:
As we carried on and I got more comfortable with a weekly post, I would try out some different things to keep it interesting – I love those airplane emergency diagrams and I try to get all MAD Magazine with them whenever possible:
And for these two back to back columns about airline and then airport fees, I tried a little Photoshop magic:
But most of the time, it’s a straight spot illo. And here are just a few more that I liked – Travelers who constantly fly around the country for business meetings; airline alliances; traveling on a tight budget; the invention of the suitcase with wheels:
Some weeks it’s almost shameful that I get to do things like this. The column was about people who are still happy to travel, in spite of all the inconveniences mentioned above, and this seemed to say that exactly:
So one last time, thanks to Joe, Phyllis, Brent, and everyone at the Times. Here’s to many more.