Celeste's Balloon
Celeste’s Balloon is a children’s board book I wrote and illustrated about a pre-schooler who builds and flies her own hot air balloon. In addition to being a fun fantasy, the story also has the aim of empowering girls to be interested in science, exploring, and leadership.
The book includes an interactive iPad app, giving readers multiple ways to experience the story.
Role: Author, Illustrator, Designer
For early readers, books are as much for parents as they are for kids. Because of this I incorporated little touches of sophistication, like a limited color palette and character designs that were whimsical without being too cartoony.
I also wanted to explore interesting type that looked at home with the illustrations. Serif fonts are easiest to understand when learning to read, so I didn’t want to stray too far from that. I settled on a sturdy slab-serif font with just enough hand-drawn irregularity to add some fun. I also included bold expressive type for a few onomatopoeias to introduce the idea that letters can be decorative as well as communicative.
Quirk: The Unconventional Filmmaker
Quirk: The Unconventional Filmmaker explores the mainstream success of experimental indie films during the late 90’s and 2000’s. It features long-form interviews with Gus Van Sant, Wes Anderson, and Michel Gondry, as well as essays on nonconformity in film. I used bold typographic title treatments and a system of dynamic colors to convey the 'quirky' tone of the material.
Role: Editor, Designer
Because the majority of text in this book is interviews, it allowed for a unique mix of styles and colors for the body fonts. Interviewers questions are styled differently than the interviewees answers, but a tight grid system helps the content stay intentional and legible.