ENVIRONMENTAL ILLUSTRATION

Communicate complex environmental science or engineering concepts to diverse and non-technical audiences through environmental illustration.

Clients & Collaborators

LVB works with and for environmental service firms, research scientists, water resource engineers, floodplain managers, federal, state, and local government agencies, conservation organizations, watershed groups, and academic and research institutions.

Environmental Specialties

LVB specializes in visualizing the subject matter of rivers, wetlands, water, watersheds, restoration ecology, ecosystem services, climate change, renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, natural hazards (drought, flood, wildfire) and forest health.

Illustration Services

Creative brief consultation, reference material review, content research, sketch compositional drafts, compositional refinements, final illustration production in multi-media format (hand-drawn, digital illustration, and graphic design), and final art file packaging for the intended use.

Climate Change Future Scenario Illustrations

Environmental illustrations help your audience visualize and imagine the impacts of climate change to plan for a more sustainable future. Climate scientists and environmental researchers use scenario-based modeling and forecasting to predict future outcomes based on action or inaction. Future scenario illustrations help stakeholders and decision-makers imagine future possibilities to plan for resiliency.

Wildfire & Forest Health Illustrations

Inform and engage your audience about forest health and severe wildfire risks. Illustrate your strategy for managing multi-jurisdictional and cross-boundary natural hazards. Communicate shared values, goals, and activities with diverse stakeholders, from experts to the general public. Create understanding around risks, relationships and responsibilities. Provide approachable and accessible graphics and visual aids for community outreach campaigns.

Landscape Vignette Illustrations

Vignettes are stylized sketch studies of landscape scenes for environmental storytelling. They illustrate the landscape’s physical aspects and character, such as its ecotone, vegetation, natural features, landforms, cultural and physical landmarks, climate, creatures, and land use. These little landscape sketches started as a way to add dimension to illustrated storytelling maps. Create a whimsical view of your resource and highlight what’s worth protecting.

Watercolor and colored pencil stylized sketch of the rolling hills, oak tree-scattered ranch lands of the Texas Hill Country landscape.

Illustrated Field Guide Maps

Take your audience on a virtual field trip. Orient them to your ecosystem restoration demonstration site. Illustrated field guides can point out the design intent, construction methods, and natural processes hidden from view. Map the connection between the desired goals, built work and restored ecosystem.

Welcome Signage graphic for LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve in Kane County, IL. Signage elements include a custom Illustrated trail map, legend, preserve rules, places of interest and visitor information designed for a 3 foot by 2 foot vertical kiosk display.

Conservation BMP Illustrations

Clearly illustrate how to construct BMPs and how they function to conserve land and water resources. Conserve topsoil, mitigate runoff, recharge groundwater, and protect or enhance natural habitat. Support the work of land managers and land stewards. LVB’s expertise in restoration ecology, watershed management, and restoration design practices helps you translate your technical BMPs into an easily understood visual language.

River Restoration

Renderings

Visualize the future of your river. LVB works with your team to translate historical information and engineering concepts into informed renderings. We use historical maps and photos, engineering drawings and river profiles (post-dam and pre-dam), and modern-day photos to illustrate before/after plans, perspective, and birds-eye renderings to visualize your river’s future or past conditions. Generate free-flowing conversation around your study area or project.

Ecological Conceptual Model Illustration

Conceptual models illustrate ecological processes in a landscape over time to support the work of watershed managers, floodplain managers, or forest managers. Ecological conceptual models illustrate the impacts of natural hazards (fire, flood, drought) and imagine potentially resilient future states. Create a visual framework to help guide your restoration project planning and track and monitor results and resiliency in your protection area.

Ecosystem Restoration Design Illustrations

LVB translates technical and bio-engineering details and concepts into easily understood illustrations and graphics to communicate your project plan to your client, stakeholders, and grant funders. LVB specializes in interpreting ecosystem and river restoration engineering drawings and construction details into stand-out visual aids that quickly convey meaning and add extra dimension to your technical plan sets and stakeholder presentations.

Translate the technically complex into easily understood graphics that speak to your audience.

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TESTIMONIALS

Jessie Olson, Executive Director

Lefthand Watershed Center, Niwot, CO

Lauren is an extraordinarily talented ecological designer and artist. Her background and experience in watershed restoration and design allowed her to bring complicated ecological concepts to light in gorgeous, easily digestible drawings. We were blown away by her ability to design and create our watershed conceptual model with great accuracy and a high degree of scientific understanding. We would hire her again in a second.

Ch'aska Huayhuaca, PhD, Collaborative Program Manager

Colorado Forest Restoration Institute, Colorado State University

Lauren’s illustrations capture the essential features of complex forest resilience and wildfire management concepts and actions in ways that are much more accessible than jargon-heavy text. It’s like packaging a whole field trip into a concise visual. The artwork is a valuable communication tool for the St. Vrain Forest Health Partnership and Northern Colorado Fireshed, helping us boost our capacity for community engagement – I look forward to seeing more of it!

Christine Goepfert, Midwest Campaign Director

National Parks Conservation Association, Minneapolis, MN

Lauren tackled a complicated project with professionalism and enthusiasm. Her work has helped us move a critical conversation forward in the Twin Cities. She was able to take historical data and imagery for the Mississippi River and create illustrations that help us “Re-imagine the Mississippi” without locks and dams. The drawings have sparked public inquiry and interest in the possibilities for the river’s future.

Jeff Crosby, Executive Director

Colorado River Land Trust, Dripping Springs, Texas

We hired Lauren during our organizational rebranding efforts to create visual products representing our conservation values across a diverse stretch of the state of Texas. Not only was the completed project visually stunning, but throughout the project, Lauren provided invaluable insight and depictions of the land and water resources we work to protect.