Getting Back to the Table
Book Graphic Illustration
TOOLS: Adobe Illustrator
My task was to create a series of five original illustrations to accompany Joshua Weiss’s novel Getting Back to the Table. The book explores negotiation and conflict resolution through a five-step process developed by Weiss, drawing on his extensive experience and expertise in the field. Each illustration was designed to visually represent one step in the process, helping to reinforce the concepts and support the reader’s understanding of the material.
Final Graphic 1
Final Graphic 2
Final Graphic 3
Final Graphic 4
Final Graphic 5
VERSION 1
VERSION 2
My process began with a consultation with Dr. Joshua Weiss to better understand his vision for the illustration. He envisioned a clean, silhouette-style graphic showing an individual climbing a staircase back toward a table—symbolizing a return to dialogue—while visually representing each step of his five-part negotiation process. The initial version featured a fixed, gender-neutral silhouette at the bottom of the stairs, with a table and two chairs positioned at the top. After reviewing the draft, Dr. Weiss expressed a desire to highlight a female figure actively climbing each step, so I revised the illustration accordingly and simplified the composition by removing one of the chairs. In the final round of revisions, we agreed to reintroduce the second chair to reinforce the idea of mutual engagement, while leaving the rest of the design unchanged.