BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS
In April 2020. the Creative Youth Center of Grand Rapids held a book cover illustration contest for their annual anthology of student work. As I had designed one of their previous anthology books, I was familiar with past cover illustrations used for their books.
For the contest, we were supplied the book title: "Let My Voice Be Loud Like Lions!" Part of the CYC's mission is to amplify kid's voices. I wanted to portray this within my illustration. I know that the organization prefers to be inclusive with their images of children, as their students have diverse backgrounds. It was for this reason that I chose to include the silhouette of a child within the body of a roaring lion that could represent any gender or race.
Since the anthology series is called the "Book of Explosions," I wanted there to be an explosive feeling with the lion's roar. This is a visual representation of amplifying children's voices as well as a connection to the title of the book. I wanted the typography to be playful and stand out against the explosion.
My illustration was selected as the grand prize winner of the contest. The judges felt as though it thoughtfully incorporated the title in a way that spoke to their mission of amplifying students' voices.
Let My Voice Be Loud Like Lions: Book Cover Design
It’ll Be Okay In A Year: Calendar Design
I created a calendar using paintings from my ArtPrize 2024 series “It’ll Be Okay In A Year“ that features 12 sad ghosts. The calendar includes my own handwritten typography throughout.
The Creative Youth Center wanted a book design for their annual anthology of student work. I worked on the design for the cover as well as the layout for the interior pages.
Using a similar illustration style as the kid quote posters I had previously worked on, I played with the typography for the cover. I took inspiration from the title and made it look like a cherry blossom tree. The branches of the tree carry on inside the book to indicate a new author's part. Symbolically, each student is a branch that is a part of the cherry blossom tree.
To promote the event where students would be reading their stories from the book to the public, the CYC also wanted a poster they could use around town. I kept a similar theme with the book cover illustration and used a cherry blossom tree image with the event information is carved on the trunk.
Bloom Cherry Bloom Tree: Book Design
Insight: Dealing with Bipolar Disorder is a publication for those who want to know more about bipolar disorder, whether they have bipolar, know someone who is, or want to be educated about the condition. Besides providing basic background information, this book acts as a collection of stories, from the perspectives of a person with bipolar and those who care about someone who has it. There is advice on how to cope with the never-ending roller coaster of emotions caused by this disorder.
Insight: Dealing with Bipolar Disorder
The Creative Youth Center of Grand Rapids wanted to promote the written words of their students to the community during events. Through this poster series, a quote selected from their recent book of collected work was highlighted on each poster. These posters bring the imagination of each student’s writing to life. I created a companion calendar from these poster designs.