Musings from N-K projects. How do you find a graphic designer? Review the portfolio, read client testimonials and blog posts.
Searching for a particular photo can be frustrating. I’m the graphic designer for Heart magazine, published by the Society of the Sacred Heart since 2003. Pamela Schaeffer, the editor who started the magazine, wrote “The covers, photos of hearts in nature, are symbolic of Christ’s presence at the heart of the universe.” Each issue has a beautiful,…
Details
Editor Katherine Pickett referred me to an author who was publishing a memoir of love and war. JimLaurie is a former NBC news correspondent who covered the wars in Cambodia and Vietnam. His book tells the story of the last-minute rescue attempt of a woman he loved that occurred right before the fall of Saigon. The rescue failed. Before we…
Details
The Yellow Glasses Project is an eye-catching reading promotion at the St. Louis County Library. Yellow book covers are extremely popular and attract attention. Sure enough, the display caught my eye when I walked into the library. Displayed on an eight-sided console were oodles of books with yellow covers, plus a yellow sunglass’s sticker. The…
Details
I scheduled a meeting in my garage with Jan, a new client who found me through my website. Jan has been undergoing chemotherapy, and she needs to take extra precautions to protect her health when she meets with people. “While I want to be careful, I really do want to move this project forward, so I would like to keep the…
Details
Here’s a book cover case study to illustrate that point. Cherita, a first-time author, contacted me about my book-design services. First, I wrote her a contract that included a cost to design the cover. She responded, “I already have a book cover, so I won’t need that service.” I deleted that cost from my estimate. …
Details
If you want your book to stand out from the competition, it must be distinctive and eye-catching. For that to occur, it should be designed by an experienced book designer. My mission is to guide authors through the book-design process with custom-designed book covers and interiors, production, and file preparation for printing. This process includes…
Details
What a way to start my day! Monday morning, a client’s email said, “This cover ID number should say 10520. Please, please tell me the print version doesn’t have the wrong year too?!!! We had 3k of these printed!” Oh no, this is bad news! My heart started pounding, and I hadn’t finished breakfast yet. What…
Details
The annual report cover for the Society of the Sacred Heart began with an amaryllis watercolor painting by Sister Donna Dolan. “We are struck by her amaryllis surrounded in darkness. Image-wise and symbolically, it just feels right for the cover. Donna is working on getting us a high-resolution image, but this is what we’d like…
Details