Illustration: What's the Point?

Book excerpt: Of all the graphic arts, illustration is currently the most dynamic and exciting. In every medium - advertising, book publishing, product design, houseware and home furnishings - new talents are emerging, making their mark and (in some cases) a fortune out of their illustration skills. But why? In this uniquely presented book, gifted illustrator Mouni Feddag takes on the subject and gives it the treatment it deserves. Witty, dynamic, wide-ranging and visual, this title answers the big questions that illustration poses, including: What's the point of hand-drawn things? What's the point of pictures? What's the point of looking good? What's the point of decoration? What's the point of commercial art? What's the point of repetition?