Sarah Billing Logo & My Map of You Hand Lettered Book Title

It was a pleasure to work on the lettering and illustration for Sarah Billing's logo commissioned by Work Design Creative Partners.

A qualified ‘Colour Me Beautiful’ consultant, Sarah approached Work Design to develop a logo that would reflect the bespoke nature of her new personal style and colour advice service.

Sarah’s expertise means ... Read on 

Sneak Peak: My Map of You Book Title Lettering

I was delighted to work on the titling for the debut novel of author, Isabelle Broom published by Penguin Michael Joseph. Hats off to the design team for coming up with such an entrancing cover, I loved working on this loose brush lettering. There are more titles to come, so once I can, I'll post the set in the publishing folder on my website. Meanwhile, for a quick hand lettered book title fix, head over there now ...

Brenda Starr Mysteries Branding

You couldn’t get a much more exciting client than feisty red-headed reporter, Brenda Starr!

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Brenda Starr’s origins in the 1940s had a big influence on the style of the logo. A dynamic combination of loose script and structured retro-inspired lettering kept the style fresh and contemporary with a nod to her comic roots. A simple star monogram offered a neat alternative to the full mark.

For continuity, this high impact, lipstick-red lettering has been taken across the Brenda Starr Mysteries website and book covers. It was specifically designed to complement James Boyle’s striking illustrative style, with its lively line work and dynamic colours. One of my favourite pages is a glimpse into the Starr World, a witty combination of lettering, illustration and pull quotes, introducing key characters in the series and bringing Brenda Starr firmly into modern world. 

It’s always a pleasure to be commissioned by someone of Jon Salem’s creative vision, his strong visual concept for the brand and depth of knowledge of the genre was an inspiration.

Take a moment to check out the website and enter the exciting world of Brenda Starr. The first novel, Black Orchid Murders is set for publication later this year.

Hand Lettered Author Logos - Kristin Hannah and Cathy Woodman

I’ve worked on quite a few author logos over the years, so I decided to gather them together and add them to a folder in the publishing section of my site. Today, I’m adding two new authors - Kristin Hannah and Cathy Woodman. 

Two very different approaches for two very different authors. A soft mono-line script for Kristin Hannah’s beautiful dream-like covers and quirkier, more angular lettering to work with the lovely watercolour illustrations on Cathy Woodman’s series.

Title Page and Spine Lettering for Lang Fairy Tales, The Folio Society

Even if you’re not a fairy tale fanatic as I am, who could fail to be inspired by these beautifully written stories by renowned folk tale writer and collector, Andrew Lang.

Gloriously illustrated by Caitlin Hackett and Kate Baylay, these luxuriant, boxed tomes, the Olive and Lilac Fairy Books, published by The Folio Society, are reminiscent of the old, linen-bound Edwardian books in my collection from childhood. With this in mind, I took Edwardian type as my inspiration and drew up the letters by hand, fitting them line by line within the illustrative borders of the title pages.

You can see more work I've done for both children's and adults books in the publishing folder on my portfolio site.

The Field of Cloth of Gold Hand Lettered Book Title

It was great to work on the title lettering for The Field of Cloth of Gold by Glenn Richardson.

A major Tudor event, The Field of Cloth of Gold, was a spectacular festival of competition and entertainment which aimed to secure a permanent settlement between England and France in 1520.

With that in mind, the title lettering had to be suitably ornate with a flavour of the period, while still being legible enough to read amongst a shelf of books. I opted for a loose informal hand and had some fun with the flourishes.

You can see more historic book title lettering in the publishing folder on my site.

Vintage Malamud Book Title Lettering

Vintage Classics has just released a series of Bernard Malamud novels with new covers designed in-house by Matt Broughton. I was delighted to be asked to work on the title lettering and designed some crisp vector drawn script to work with Matt's painterly,  retro-inspired illustrations. 

I like to work with a variety of media - both traditionally with brushes, pens and ink, as well as digitally. Recently I've been working on the possibilities of combining my hand lettered ink work with vector based drawings, opening up some interesting new avenues of exploration.

If you'd like to see more of what's interesting me at the moment, take a look at my side projects folder on my newly designed portfolio. If you're interested in book design you can see more of this work in my publishing folder.

The Teardrop Island by Cherry Briggs

 I was asked by Summersdale Publishers to design a cover for The Teardrop Island by Cherry Briggs.

The book follows in the footsteps of the eccentric Victorian, James Emerson Tennet, along a route which takes the author to pilgrimage trails, into tea reserves and rural regions inhabited by indigenous tribes, as well as restricted areas of the former warzone.

Designing a complete cover is a new venture for me and one that I relished. Having put together some roughs, this vibrant red and purple design was chosen, giving a contemporary touch to the travelogue, while the distressed period type was a nod to the tale's Victorian inspiration.

I was also asked to draw a map of the route. I had some fun with this, researching Sri Lanka's tourist spots and making the most of the basic black print by creating simple distressed imagery and hand drawn lettering to echo the period feel of the cover type.

Katie Piper Author Lettering

I was asked to work on Katie Piper's author lettering by Quercus Publishing. She's well known here in the UK as an inspiration to many, due to her positive outlook and sheer determination to survive a brutal rape and acid attack that left her with deep physical and emotional scars. Things Get Better is a book written to support those who have suffered trauma, drawing on her own experiences and the letters of other survivors.

The aim was to keep the style fresh, dynamic and approachable to reflect the writer's strength and compassion - I was delighted when is was decided to use it on her next book, Start Your Day With Katie.

To see more of my book lettering click onto my word>publishing folder on my online portfolio.

The Testament of Jessie Lamb

This recently hand lettered title for Edinburgh publishing house, Canongate Books, works with the evocative image to give the cover an intimate, confessional feel.

To see more of my publishing work click on the word>publishing folder in my online portfolio.

Jennifer Weiner Titles

I was asked to work on some hand lettered titles for talented designer/illustrator Lizzie Gardiner at Simon & Schuster Publishing. The lettering had to compliment Lizzie's stylish illustrations for an eye catching series of covers for Jennifer Weiner's latest novels. You may have seen the film of her book, In Her Shoes with Cameron Diaz.

The soft brush curves and playful flourishes give the lettering feminine appeal while still being bold and legible enough to stand out on the shelf. There's more in the set - so watch out for them in your local bookstore ...

You can see more of my publishing work in my word>publishing folder on my portfolio website.

Celebrity Books

I enjoy working for the publishing industry and that work can take various forms; titles for covers, part headings for inside the book, quotes for the back cover as well as author logos that work across a range of books.

Genres can vary but recently I've noticed I've been working on quite a few celebrity books. I think the reason why hand lettering works so well with this type of cover is because it often features a photograph of the author. A simple hand lettered title dropped over the photography can soften the design and give it a human touch.This is particularly true of autobiographies when the personal feel of lettering can remind us that we're reading the celebrity's own thoughts.

To see more of my book cover work click through to my publishing folder on my site.