Indianapolis Monthly – “Taking a Toll”
Editorial Illustration | October 2025 Issue
Art Director: Maura Broderson
Agency: Mendola Artists
Illustrator: Suzu Takeshi
Created for Indianapolis Monthly’s feature article “Taking a Toll,” this illustration accompanies a story about the history and future of toll roads in Indiana — from their 19th-century origins to the modern political debate surrounding new tolling legislation.
The brief called for an optimistic, urban, and dynamic tone, reflecting Indianapolis in the autumn season. The composition needed to leave space for editorial elements such as the headline and story introduction, while visually evoking themes of movement, infrastructure, and civic life.
The art direction encouraged creative interpretations — from contrasting the past and future of toll roads to symbolizing how these routes connect the state’s communities. The final illustration blends narrative detail and modern energy, in keeping with the magazine’s vibrant, contemporary visual style.
Creative Process & Art Direction
The composition is a bit busy, the toll booths are lost in all the different elements.
Simplify it and reduce some of the elements. The paper/pages, bison, Indianapolis flag, traffic signs and the mountains can all be removed.
Mountains need to be removed (there are no mountains in Indiana).
For background nature, fields of corn or flat, deciduous forests are more appropriate for Indiana.
The negative space in the upper left corner could be even bigger to fit the intro.
Change the one large corn stalk, it feels out-of-place.
It sort of looks like a statue where it is placed.
Maybe could move it to the very back, where you have the corn field.
Or, just take the one big corn stalk out, and keep the corn field in the background.
There’s plenty of room for the intro now!
Photo of sketch attached with the real intro block inserted,you can see how that text block will look on the final.
Narrow down the color palette and still be able to convey all the detail.
The “EZ Pass” sign jumps out at me a lot. In the final, can that just say “TOLL” and be made more subtle / less noticeable.
Final Art
