Illustration & Cover Design.

The Project

My role in this project was to design the book cover and to make illustrations to go along with the poems inside the book. This project was a labor of love for me, as I volunteered my design and illustration skills to help bring my best friend's debut poetry book to life. I was passionate about creating visuals that not only captured the essence of her work but also reflected her personality. This project held significant importance to me, and I was dedicated to ensuring that every detail was perfect.

We met up for her to brief me on what she had in mind for the book . She already had an idea of what she wanted her book cover to be so she made me a rough sketch to refer to .

Briefing & Brainstorming

Next we went over all of her poems in the book and she let me know which poems she wanted me to make illustrations for as well. I was given creative freedom to illustrate whatever I felt suited each poem best. The only request on the illustrations and book cover is that she wanted them to look like sketches as if the book was her diary that she made sketches in.

I read her whole book front to back multiple times to get a better feel for the tone of the book .

Illustrating the Book Cover

After the briefing and reading the book several times , I was ready to start illustrating the Cover . I started off with the idea that the author first imagined for the cover and added some personalized details I felt gave the cover more meaning .

Some of the details I added were:

• For the cover portrait, I went for a depiction of the author herself. Given that the book is a collection of very personal poems about her life experiences, it felt fitting to put her on the cover. The book is so intimately connected to her that it almost reads like a diary, and it being her debut work only adds to its significance. In short, her portrait on the cover perfectly captures the essence of the book.

• After giving it some thought, I settled on the color blue for the cover illustration. As a close friend of the author, I've always associated the color blue with her personality, and I know it happens to be her favorite color too. So, it felt like a perfect fit for the book.

• During our discussion , the author mentioned her desire to have smoke on the book cover. After some thought, I suggested that the smoke should come from a cigarette to give it more significance. We ultimately agreed that including a cigarette on the cover would represent the challenging periods of her life that inspired the poems in the book.

• Lastly, the author also wanted to have butterflies on the cover. I opted to depict monarch butterflies as they hold a special place in her heart as a reminder of her father and symbolize hope. Additionally, they represent the brighter aspects of the book, as not all poems revolve around negative experiences, but also touch upon positive and cheerful themes.

Poem Illustrations

Up next was for me to make illustrations for a couple of her poems of her choosing. I used the procreate app on my iPad to make the sketches/illustrations.

I carefully crafted illustrations for a few selected poems. Each illustration was meant to perfectly complement the essence of the poem it accompanied. Maintaining a consistent art style throughout, I ensured all illustrations, including those on the book cover, were approved by the author with only two minor revisions.