‘I start the simple way – by putting pen to paper’: how illustrator Till Lauer creates award-winning New Yorker covers

From working at night to getting savvy with tech, Lauer explains how he shuts out distractions and enters a creative flow to produce his signature minimal-with-a-twist visual art

Creativity feels like magic, but it’s also a craft, a series of steps. Inspiration and luck can help you, but I’ve learned that it’s really about showing up.

As a self-employed illustrator and visual artist my work has appeared in magazines and news outlets including the Guardian, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker and the Economist. Whether I’m creating a potential magazine cover, working on an illustration for a weekly column, or just trying out something for fun, I start in the same, simple way: by putting pen to paper. This is where the reMarkable paper tablet comes in.

I often have a short turnaround time, but I like that challenge of solving a problem quickly and creatively. I’ll start by reading whatever information the client has sent – an email, or a complete draft. I start scribbling down initial thoughts and fragments of ideas, doodling and writing notes. It’s kind of chaotic at this stage, but also exciting, as everything is still possible.

This conceptualising is perhaps the most important part of my process, and the reMarkable Paper Pure is perfect for it, allowing me to sketch and annotate on the same device. The resistance of the pen on the matte screen feels like paper, and the way it responds to different angles and pressure is very natural. It’s a pleasure to use.

I can also import draft text and scribble ideas for visuals directly on to it as I’m reading. I like to capture my first, intuitive response as quickly as possible. There’s something pure in that which can be valuable – or sometimes you just need to get your first ideas out of the way. Like most people, I can get distracted. I’ve tried apps to restrict screen time, turning my phone to black and white, and even locking it away.

One thing I really like about the paper tablet is that you can’t scroll the internet on it. It takes away a lot of the noise. Having that space to think is really valuable. That’s why my desk in my home studio in Brooklyn is free of clutter. With my work often unpredictable and fast-paced, scattered across different time zones and clients, a simple workspace offers me some clarity.

Getting away from my desk is good, too. I make lots of cups of coffee and if I haven’t got a pressing deadline, I like to take a walk. I’ll often have ideas when I’m in motion. The reMarkable Paper Pure is lightweight, so I can put it in my bag and use it on the go to capture thoughts.

Ideas aren’t always right for that moment, but I’ll come back to them later. I might be doodling while on the phone to a friend and think, that’s a cool sketch. I have stacks of loose papers with scribbles on them. It’s a treasure trove of ideas and thoughts, but to have them in one place and easily searchable makes things much easier. With the paper tablet, I can add tags to pages to help me find ideas and images. If I need to draw a balloon, I can search for every balloon I’ve already sketched, as long as I’ve tagged them.

• ‘Sometimes the challenge is to not kill what’s great about an idea while you’re refining it’

At first glance my work can seem quite minimal, but there is usually a visual pun or twist there. My drawings rarely look complicated, but that simplicity is often necessary to convey complex ideas.

The idea for my first New Yorker cover came to me one morning in bed. There’s no assignment for New Yorker covers – instead, artists are invited to submit ideas that speak to the moment. I’d sent dozens of sketches before this one, an image of black palm tree silhouettes against a red skyline, to reflect the devastation of the California wildfires, was chosen in January 2025.

The story really affected me. I have friends in California and spent time there as a child, and like many I’m terrified by the effects of climate change. So one morning I got up and tried a few ideas and sent one over.

Once they decided they were going with my work everything moved very fast and I had to draw a final version as quickly as possible. That can be a good thing. Sometimes the challenge is to not kill what’s great about an idea while you’re refining it.

• ‘Getting away from my desk is good, too. If I haven’t got a pressing deadline, I like to take a walk’

That New Yorker cover, Flames and Shadows, and my second one, Targeted – a work in response to the ICE killings in the US – won gold and silver awards at the Art Directors Club awards. Being recognised by peers, especially as a self-employed creative, was a big moment.

Seeing my work out in the world has always been a thrill, whether it was the poster I designed for a music venue I worked at back home in Switzerland, or my New Yorker cover in a cafe. Because I work digitally, people will sometimes ask me where the original is – but the original is out on the news stand. That’s where my work is intended to be.

For me, the most enjoyable part of the whole process is in my studio, when an idea is greenlit and I’m adding in all the final detail. When I’m coming up with ideas and concepts I prefer to work in silence, often starting with the reMarkable Paper Pure so I can sketch and develop a thought without anything else competing for my attention. When I’m getting something over the finish line, I put on music. That’s when I feel like I’m in a flow state, and hours can pass effortlessly. I often work at night, when I know my phone won’t ring and there are fewer distractions.

There’s a freedom and peacefulness in those moments. I sometimes feel the same as I did as a kid in my room, drawing and listening to music – just following an idea to see where it takes me. To have that kind of relationship with my work is such a privilege.

Made for Thinking
Find out more about replacing your notes and printed documents with a digital notebook that feels like paper at remarkable.com