A compendium of abnormal red blood cells

This week’s collaboration with Nerdcore Medical is an ornamental poster showing the different kinds of abnormal red blood cell shapes. The style I picked for this poster was inspired by hand-woven rugs and Rococo stucco work.

When I started this project it was really hard to figure out what to do with the simple shapes of the red blood cells. I kept trying to make the design more interesting by adding details or shading or patterns to each cell.

But finally I stopped trying to make the cells more complicated than they needed to be, and went with the complete opposite approach. For the final design I made the cells extremely minimal, and then piled on detail everywhere else.

To make the decorative pattern I drew everything first in pencil, and then scanned it into Photoshop to copy and paste together. I originally drew this poster in navy blue - and then had a real “why didn’t I think of that” moment when Arun suggested red to match the red blood cells. Needless to say we went with red for the final poster.

• Sources

• First Aid for the USMLE Book 1 (2015). Tao Le and Vikas Bhushan. © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education, Abetalipoproteinemia (Genetics Home Reference, NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine), Thalassemia (Division of Blood Disorders, CDC), Haematological Methods (Prevention of Thalassaemias and Other Haemoglobin Disorders: Volume 2), Hemoglobin C Diseases (Conference on Hemoglobin: 2–3 May 1957), Basophilic stippling of red blood cells (Cheson et al. Am J Ind Med)