Explainer Illustration Services

Close-up of Anna Simmons’s storyboard illustration showing 'More than a Meal’ and ‘Liverpool' lettering with blue and orange colours and ship drawings.

Frames from an illustrated explainer that uses characters and scene-setting to make a complex idea easy to follow.

Visual Storytelling For Complex Ideas

I craft explainer illustrations and visual essays that make understanding easy. By blending hand lettering with illustration, I visually problem-solve; to guide viewers through your message in ways that feel thoughtful, human, and oh-so accessible.

Make ideas easier to grasp

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Add warmth to complex subjects

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Engage viewers at a glance

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Make ideas easier to grasp - Add warmth to complex subjects - Engage viewers at a glance -

Explainer Illustrations and Illustrated Essays can benefit your brand or organisation:

Ensure important messages from getting lost in generic visuals

Inspire Action

Make issues personal and easy to grasp; motivating involvement and action

Message Clarity

Explain complex ideas with warmth and humanity; encouraging empathy

Human Touch

Photo of a storyboard illustration by Anna Simmons printed in a book, shown on a branded colour background

From Abstract to Accessible

The Challenge of Engaging your Audience

It can be hard to get audience attention on complex, abstract topics. Dense information tends to push people away before they even engage, and some subjects can feel unfathomable to non-experts.

Given that most of your audience is probably non-expert (and often pressed for time) your report or paper might go unread - not because it's unimportant, but because it’s hard to connect with.

As Mark Twain once said, We’re all ignorant, just about different things

…so, helpful, quick explanations will always go a long way.

The Power of Visuals

Explainer illustration and visual essays offer an immediate way in. They can help your audience understand, care about, and remember what matters most in your message. They invite interpretation so that your audience feels:

Invited to their own conclusions - not lectured.

Included in the story- not left out of it.

This is the essence of visual storytelling for complex ideas: making the intricate accessible and engaging.

A storyboard illustration brought to life in print, demonstrating how well-crafted visuals can make complex stories clear and engaging on the page

Some things are best explained visually

Here's what that looks like in practice

Illustrated Visual Essays

Explainer illustration project demonstrating narrative clarity on topics of cultural nuance and community identity. See the project in full here

I wove together letters, colour, and visual problem-solving to distill a rich, 300-year history into a concise 3-page visual essay.

Instant imagery sparks curiosity while friendly letterforms invite readers in. Storyboard-storytelling conveys information fast but also helps readers to both understand the story, and feel it.

By putting faces to facts, I offer cultural and historical depth through empathy-building while vintage textures and hand lettering builds warmth and trust.

Each frame uses a fresh visual storytelling device; from illustrative analogies to conceptual visuals- keeping readers entertained and respecting their intelligence- no talking down to the audience or spoon-feeding information.

This approach transforms complex or dry topics into shareable, memorable, and human stories that resonate and encourage meaningful connection.

Friendly lettering that’s user-friendly, too!

I use just enough lettering to catch the eye and do the job, without pulling your audience into deep-reading mode. This lets them absorb information quickly and effortlessly, making the experience fun and engaging.

A visual scene-setting explainer that deconstructs Liverpool’s name by identifying the eponymous “pool” as the site of the now famous dock. Combining hand-lettered text, colour-coded typography, and detailed figures to connect name and place in a vivid, accessible way.

Explainer illustration by Anna Simmons linking the word "Liverpool" to its historic dock, with hand lettering, colour-coded text, and detailed figures.

Showing, not just telling

Illustrations of people and places tap into empathy, helping your audience form a deeper, more meaningful connection with your message.

A narrative illustration showing the correlation between shipping activity and unemployment in 19th–20th century Liverpool, using drawn people and scene setting to visualise economic data in human terms

Two-colour hand-lettered narrative illustration by Anna Simmons showing the link between Mersey ships and unemployment in 19th-20th century Liverpool, with a labour exchange and workers on a ship

Custom explainer illustrations for campaigns

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Illustrated storytelling for social impact

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Human-centred visuals for communication teams

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Custom explainer illustrations for campaigns - Illustrated storytelling for social impact - Human-centred visuals for communication teams -

Explained at a Glance Illustrations

Clear workflow illustration showing the step-by-step process of commissioning an illustration, enhanced with friendly hand lettering for easy understanding.

I designed illustrated workflows and visual manuals for my own business. These illustrations break down industry know-how into clear, client-friendly steps.

You’re welcome!

Instead of wading through pages of text, these illustrations give a quick, memorable snapshot of processes: perfect for solving communication challenges behind the scenes.

While great for visual learners, the vintage textures and hand lettering also add a warm, human touch that resonates with all kinds of minds.

Click any image to explore my ‘How It Works’ section in full

Explainers that guide, inform, and connect

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Helping audiences understand with warmth

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Turning big ideas into visual stories

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Explainers that guide, inform, and connect - Helping audiences understand with warmth - Turning big ideas into visual stories -

Ready to transform how you communicate?

Let's make complex information clear, engaging, and easy to absorb

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