Notes from a Sickbed, Graphic Universe, 2022 I’ve been a fan of cartoonist Tessa Brunton for many years, so it was a pleasure to work as the designer on her first full-length graphic novel. Given the book’s title and subject, this project provided the exciting opportunity to incorporate the visuals of a scrapbook or journal. …
The Other Cheek: An Epic Nonviolent Yarn, The Crucial Years, 2021 It was a true honor to design a cover for Bill McKibben. In his initial email to me, he described this book as “kind of an ode to nonviolent movement building.” It is exactly that, and it is lovely. The Other Cheek is a …
Votes for Women: The Battle for the 19th Amendment, Little Red Bird Press, 2020 I designed the cover and contributed a 10-page comic to this 2020 anthology. Using purple and yellow, the original colors of the Women’s Suffrage movement, I created a cover design that communicated both the historic subject matter, and the cartoon medium. …
Out of Oblivion: How I Left OB-LOM, Birk, 2021 I illustrated and designed the cover for this fascinating first novel by Kristina Birk, a Ukrainian-born writer, producer, and performer. The story’s dystopian setting provided a bounty of intriguing visuals to play with. For the first round of sketches, I sent Kristina eight possibilities: After Kristina …
Not Another Breastfeeding Book, Beaver’s Pond Press, 2019 I knew immediately that Not Another Breastfeeding Book needed a cover to match its cheeky, playful title, and was delighted that the author wanted to go the illustrated route. I came up with three thumbnail concepts, and from there, tried out a variety of color palettes as …
It’s Never Going to Work: A Tale of Art and Nonprofits in the Minneapolis Community, Marjorie Books, 2018 This book was truly a labor of love. The author, Jamie Schumacher, is a prominent author, artist, and community organizer in the Twin Cities arts scene. When she approached me about doing the design and illustration for …
#LookUp: A Parenting Guide to Screen Use, Wise Ink Creative Publishing, 2019 For this nonfiction book about the intersection of parenting and technology, we tried a few different directions. The first round of concepts was very slick, with crisp vector art and bold colors. After reviewing these initial concepts, the author realized that really, a …
Wonder-FULL: Activate Your Inner Superpowers—No Cape Required, Beaver’s Pond Press, 2019 This superhero-themed workbook for women needed to be eye-catching and action-packed inside and out. For the cover, the author envisioned a pantsuited superheroine in bold red boots, and classic “comic book” lettering. As a cartoonist, this was definitely in my wheelhouse. For the interior, …
Blocked: Stories from the World of Online Dating, Little Red Bird, 2017 This anthology of comics about online dating experiences needed a cover design that got right to the point. I explored a few different directions, including broken phones and endless columns of text messages. But the concept that fit best was an onslaught of …
Kingman & Reed Mystery Series, 2016-2019. I have been designing the covers for the Kingman & Reed Series since 2016, starting with Paper Trail, the second book in the series. Each one has been such a treat. While we’ve tied the design together in small ways (recurring fonts, and a tactile feel), we’ve allowed each …
