DESIGN PROBLEM:
Debut author H.P. Waitt needed illustrations for her fantastical young adult novel set in a magical parallel universe. The book needed cover art for a hardcover sleeve and softcover, three chapter head interior illustrations, and marketing material following its release.
DESIGN SOLUTION:
Playing off of the “glass forest” reference from the text, I used traditional art media in combination with digital illustration to create the surreal painterly forest. I then pulled from the celtic origins of the world’s magic to create the chalice well and other interior illustrations. After the release I created a custom packing mailer full of custom merch like bookmarks, water bottles, notebooks and more.
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P R O J E C T :
COVER ILLUSTRATIONS
[ ILLUSTRATIONS ]
PROJECT BRIEF:
The author asked for a hardcover sleeve and a softcover variant, as well as a digital thumbnail for online purchases. The hardcover book would also have a gold foil print beneath the sleeve. I was provided with an early draft of the book that established the setting and described the forest being “so green it appeared to be made of glass” and that it had a “painterly” feel to it. The magic and some characters derive from celtic origin.
TOOLS USED:
ILLUSTRATOR
PHOTOSHOP
INDESIGN
ALCOHOL INKS
IDEATION:
BAND OF SHADOWS
INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS
[ ILLUSTRATIONS ]
ILLUSTRATIONS:
I only had 4 illustrations to build out the visual language for this world, so I wanted to explore it at as many scales as I could. An amulet, a door, a location, and a map. The hope is this gives the reader the foundation to launch their imagination and easily contribute to the world-building as they read.
BAND OF SHADOWS
GIFT BOX
[ MARKETING MATERIAL ]
MARKETING MATERIALS:
After the book release I worked with the author and her PR staff member to design branded merchandise for gift boxes targeting book reviewers with large online followings. The 14 panel box was fully custom designed to match elements from the cover and interior illustrations to continue the immersive feeling of this world.
Each box contained products for self-care aligning with the books positive perception of mental health. It also included branded merchandise including a journal, a water bottle, and a bookmark.
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