Ryan O’Rourke Illustrates Parker Panda’s Perfect Day

Ryan O’Rourke, Professor of Illustration, adds another children’s book to his illustration portfolio: Parker Panda’s Perfect Day created for Eversana and Horizon Therapeutics. Here, he describes the project.

For this project, I was commissioned by Eversana to illustrate a 32-page children’s book titled Parker Panda’s Perfect Day. The book was created in partnership with Horizon Therapeutics and specifically tailored for distribution to children living with Urea Cycle Disorder (UCD), a rare genetic condition that affects the body’s ability to remove waste nitrogen.

My role involved developing the complete visual narrative—from character design and initial concept sketches to final full-color illustrations across all pages. The goal was to create a warm, engaging, and emotionally resonant experience for young readers facing complex medical challenges. I collaborated closely with the creative and medical teams to ensure the tone and imagery were both age-appropriate and sensitive to the lived experiences of the children and their families.

The story centers around Parker Panda, a cheerful and relatable character whose “perfect day” reinforces positive themes like resilience, self-care, and joy in everyday moments. The book was distributed as part of Horizon Therapeutics’ outreach efforts to provide comfort, encouragement, and connection within the rare disease community.

This project combined storytelling, medical awareness, and compassionate design, allowing me to contribute artistically to an initiative with real emotional impact.

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