Accuracy is the deliverable
In a storybook an approximate leaf is fine. In a biology textbook it is an error that a teacher will find, a reviewer will flag, and a reprint will have to fix. Educational artwork carries a factual burden that trade illustration does not, and it has to carry it while still being clear enough for the age group it is written for.
That means working from your subject-matter expert's reference rather than from memory, flagging anything ambiguous rather than guessing, and building in a factual review pass separate from the visual one. Both sign-offs happen before final art.
Built as a system, not a pile of pictures
A curriculum programme is a visual language: a fixed palette with defined meanings, standard line weights, a labelling and callout convention, consistent character representation across cultures and abilities, and a grid the artwork sits on. Establish that first and every subsequent asset is faster, cheaper and automatically consistent.
That system is documented and handed over. It means a later volume, a translation, or a second supplier can extend the programme without the artwork visibly changing hands mid-series.
Print and digital from the same source
Educational content almost always ships twice — a printed workbook and a digital platform, often with an interactive version too. Artwork built for print and then downsampled looks wrong on screen, and screen artwork enlarged for print falls apart.
Assets are built once at a resolution and structure that serves both: CMYK for press, RGB for platform, vector where the content will be resized or animated later, and layers kept live so a label can be translated without redrawing the diagram.
