Abell Foundation

Publication design and narrative illustration
Role: Designer, illustrator, print production

The Abell Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Baltimore. The Foundation publishes The Abell Report, which consists of research and background studies of selected issues on the public agenda.

While I regularly coordinated the design and physical production of the report, this particular report on microplastics presented a unique opportunity to use illustration to visualize the pervasiveness of the issue.

Abell report open to a spread showing an eight-panel comic


The vignette follows a day in the life of the main character, Polly. She is a well-informed young adult who makes environmentally responsible choices. However, even she is unaware of how microplastics seep out of every aspect of daily life.

  • Polly throws a yogurt cup into the recycling bin
  • Polly is surrounded by sources of microplastics that circle the earth
  • Microplastics are shown shedding from a toothbrush, hand cream, and mascara
  • Sources of microplastics such as cotton swabs, floss, and contact lenses often get flushed down the toilet
  • Polly is show practicing yoga in activewear, while the image of a washing machine highlights the microplastics shedding from her workout clothes each wash
  • The fibers of Polly's jacket is zoomed in to show they include microplastics
  • The yogurt cup that Polly put in the recycling bin finds its way to a storm drain
  • Polly drivers her car while her tires slowly shed microplastics on the road that will end up in the river
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