Book Design
Editorial Design + Publishing
Project Type
Role
Designer + Art Director
Book design is an especially satisfying challenge: creating variety across multiple pages while remaining consistent with the visual concept. I have had the opportunity to work with all kinds of special treatments including glitter, embossing, complicated diecuts and folds as well as intricate interactive pieces and pop-ups. I have worked with publishers including Disney, Pixar, Chronicle Books, Scholastic, becker&mayer! and Collectors Press, from covers and interiors to interactive books, kits and packaging.
The projects run the gamut from big, glossy coffee table books to smaller educational books and fun pop-culture collectibles. All are image-heavy books. Some have pockets, inserts, sound modules, dimensional pieces or things you could actually take out and play with. I worked across concept, art direction, typography, page design and production, with the goal of making each book feel like its own little world.
Bad Girls: Film Fatales, Sirens and Molls
Collectors Press
I concepted and designed this book from cover to cover, including the jacket, interior system and title treatment. The layouts use a restrained grid, oversized type and vintage film imagery to give it a bold, cinematic feel. I did many books for Collectors Press, as you'll see below, but I consider this one the flagship.
The Hidden World of Disney Fairies
becker&mayer! // Disney
I was given complete creative freedom to design this book for the launch of Disney Fairies, and I poured a lotta love into it. I wanted every interactive page to feel like something had actually happened to it, so I made many of the details by hand first, then scanned them in. I burned paper, sewed pieces together with needle and twine, drew headers in colored pencil, dropped real paint onto leaves, and built little textures and objects that became part of the finished pages.
I also collaborated with our product designer and the Disney illustrators on the interactive pieces, including a secret-decoder magnifying glass and a tiny pop-up animal-language dictionary, and worked with Disney’s illustrators to bring the bigger ideas to life. I added glitter and embossed gems on the cover to look like dewdrops, and together we added pockets, inserts and all kinds of small surprises. The whole thing was designed to introduce people to the new Disney Fairies world and make it feel genuinely magical to explore.
Stereobooks Series
becker&mayer! // Chronicle Books
This series has built-in speakers on both sides of the book, so when you open it up, the sound actually plays in stereo. Each spread has a numbered button that triggers the sounds of the scene, from roaring dinosaurs and wild animals to planes, race cars and rockets.
I designed the series and art-directed all three books, hiring a different illustrator for each one based on the subject matter. I wanted the books to feel connected as a set, while giving each illustrator room to bring their own expertise and personality to the artwork.
Collectors Press: Selected Titles
Collectors Press
Collectors Press specialized in mid-century pop culture, so these books gave me an excuse to dig deep into vintage advertising, magazines and all kinds of beautifully weird source material. I designed titles on everything from cigarette and liquor ads to early television and retro cookbooks, sorting through scanned magazine imagery to find just the right pieces for each spread. The subject changed, but the fun part was always the same: taking a pile of old material and turning it into something lively, readable and full of personality.
