Illustrations with a sense of ambiguity created by Eric Petersen.

Based in Joshua Tree, California, Eric Petersen is an artist and illustrator who skillfully combines functional styles with emotional scenes. Driven by his passion for instructional graphics, video games, and the typical look of old vintage comics from the 1940s, his illustrative work is characterized by uniform lines and vibrant colors to set up a surreal, voyeuristic mood. His subject of matter mainly consists of people in minimalist environments. With a strong sense of ambiguity, viewers can imagine their own narrative.

Eric Petersen was recently selected for the Society of Illustrators 59 Illustration annual for editorial series and was selected as 1 of 15 from POLITICO Europe’s favorite illustrations of 2016. In the past years, he has worked with The New York Times, The Guardian, New Republic, The Boston Globe, MIT Technology Review, among others. Some examples of his outstanding illustrations can be found below. For more, please have a look at his website or follow him on Instagram.

It's me
It’s me – illustration by Eric Petersen.
According To Standards
According To Standards
An Impossibility
An Impossibility
Greater Than
Greater Than
Vices of Leisure
Vices of Leisure
Without Fail
Without Fail

All images © by Eric Petersen. Feel free to find more inspiring work by some of the world’s most creative illustrators on WE AND THE COLOR. Our Illustration category includes a wide variety of styles ranging from traditional drawings to modern computer graphics.