Matt Dorfman recently completed an illustration for the Asian edition of Time Magazine in Hong Kong. The article addressed speculation and uncertainty of how China’s economy will perform in the wake of the upcoming summer Olympics.



Deputy art director Nilanjan Das suggested that a bear might make a good representation of a brutish economy. Dorfman then created a series of “quick-as-nobody’s-business” concept sketches, both with and without bears.


1. Loose Change - Notice the lack of bear.




2. Bear Tunnel - The Olympic torch lights the way into the bleak void that is a bear’s salivating jaws.




3. Bear as Socio-economic Superfreak.




4. Bear vs. Olympian in a heated battle for the governance of China!




“The assignment happened to come to me right before taking off for a decidedly lost weekend with my brother, so working quickly was of the essence. The final sketch was approved Friday afternoon and the final illustration was delivered the following Monday evening with my brother’s and my fantastic voyage sandwiched in between. It was quite a ride.”