His work has been seen by more people than a Huskie football game, and it only took eight hours for him to create it.

This mystery man is none other than Jeremy Wilson, the man who created the cover design for NIU’s spring 2002 class schedule booklet.

Wilson, who graduated from NIU in August as an illustration major, got the job of creating the cover art as a student worker for NIU Publications. In his design, he wanted to highlight the diverse nature of NIU’s campus.

“I had seen a lot of covers, and the covers didn’t have a lot to do with students,” Wilson said.

And so, Wilson created a cover illustration that focused solely on the student population. But there was one thing Wilson neglected to do which got him into a little bit of trouble & not including his friends.

“I caught a lot of flack for that,” he said.

Wilson, who now works for the Daily Chronicle, received $300 for his work and a copy mailed to him despite already having graduated from NIU.

The schedule books come out twice a year. Bruce Oates, assistant director of registration and records, is responsible for finding the artist who will create the cover art. About three to four months before the book goes to print, Oates gets the design together.

“I usually use students that I meet or that are recommended for the project,” Oates said.

Each year, NIU prints 40,000 copies of the spring schedule book and 50,000 copies of the summer/fall book. That number could drop as more students begin to use the online method to register for classes; however, Oates said the university already planned on printing fewer copies.

“The online schedule book is getting a lot of activity,” Oates said.

As far as Wilson’s illustration, there are still 40,000 copies floating around the NIU campus and beyond. Plus, he has illustrations in other NIU media, too.

His work at NIU Publications had him doing illustrations for the fall 2001 edition of Northern Now, the NIU alumni magazine, in which he did an illustration of Regis Philbin.

Jeff Strohm, an NIU Publications graphic designer, said Wilson was beneficial to the staff because of his versatility.

“He was willing to do just about anything we needed him to,” Strohm said. “He used all kinds of art materials.”

Wilson’s abilities made it especially hard for NIU Publications to let him go, but Strohm sees a lot of potential for Wilson in the future.

“I don’t think he will have any problems,” Strohm said.