Universal Television — Narrative Illustration for Series Identity
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love New York City. It’s shaped so much of my design work — the culture, the history, the rhythm of the place — so when this project came up, it felt electric. Getting to work directly with Universal Television was incredible on its own, but as a lifelong TV and film fan, knowing the artwork would live on an actual set was surreal.
Client: Universal Television
Deliverables: Visual narrative illustration (set asset), designed to reflect the show’s New York identity
The brief was to create a narrative illustration for LAW & ORDER: New York — something that captured the city’s tension, energy, and structure without falling into the usual clichés. The challenge wasn’t just stylistic; it was spatial. This wasn’t packaging or a poster or a brand asset. It was something that needed to sit inside a physical environment and support the show’s world without distracting from it. Designing for a set is a completely different narrative problem, and that tension became the heart of the project.
I focused on translating the emotional architecture of New York — the grit, the urgency, the duality — into a minimalist graphic language. A restricted palette (blue, red, black/white), clean lines, and high contrast allowed the illustration to feel atmospheric rather than literal. It needed to echo the show’s identity, not compete with it. The goal was mood, memory, and tone — something that felt undeniably New York without relying on the obvious.
The final artwork became part of the official set environment, contributing to the immersive world of the series. For me, it was a moment where my love for New York, my illustration practice, and my interest in narrative design all came together. It taught me how different it is to design for space rather than product — and how powerful visual storytelling can be when it’s woven quietly into a world rather than placed on top of it.