I am a versatile designer, ranging from online, interactive media, to print and video/sound; my latest work is in book design. One of the most delightful things in being both an author and designer is that I get to design my own books. As a creative advisor, I have designed books for other authors and helped them get published.
Book Covers and Interiors
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Hidden Grandma
A children’s book that “hides” Grandma in ever-more ridiculous places. Design and branding: part of the “I Love my Grands” series.
No Time Like the Present
Stark, bright posterized illustrative style underlines the title in the artwork with the shadow of the runner that points to her future romantic interest in the distance.
The Creative Life in 365 Degrees
The cover uses very simple graphics; a circle in an elliptical orbit around the title. The image offers a visual pun that contrasts the idea of 365 days vs. 360
The Myth of Race
The image is of a push-up toy that I bought in Chelsea a few years ago. Tension is conveyed by the jarring offset of the foreground and background colors.
Anonymous was a Woman
The subtitle, “an exploration of gender and genius,” was inserted inside the area of the title instead of placing it in a more traditional location underneath the title.
Make Me an Offer I Can’t Refuse
The “gangsta” theme of this book provoked a title made from a ransom note. Cut letters from a newspaper were scanned and used to create the title.
The Visionary
Another of my 3D illustrations, in this case, I place a cube of a face on top of the right eye of another face and shot it at an angle.
Typography
Futura Light and Light Condensed
3D art and book design Aliyah Marr
The Tarot Key
The book’s interior uses a large, screened-back (grayed) image on the left page of each entry, balanced by the smaller image on the right in black. A special technique
The Lost Boy
Sometimes the best solution is a subtle one. The word “Lost” hides out in the open, while the reflection of the boy in the water is indistinct, like a distant memory. The word, “Lost” is in the same blue as the water below, and the image of the upside-down boy projects downward from the word, calling attention to the boy’s reflection.
Do it Yourself Tarot
The target market inspired the cover; commercial images of tools form the letters “DIY”; the title is a metallic-looking embossed
Unplug From the Matrix
The illustration and design emulates the screen of the Matrix: the title swirls as if going down a drain.
The Avatars of Eden
This book is about creating a “heaven on Earth,” therefore, the image on the cover shows the sun rising over the curvature of the Earth.
The Tarot of Creativity Little White Book
The interior of the book is designed to show the card on the left side and the description/meaning of the card on the right.
The Invisible Man
A redesign of a classic. In the book, the protagonist could be seen only while he was covered in bandages, conveying his isolation and power at the same time
Do It Yourself Kindle Publishing
A book that uses the metaphor of building a home features a power saw on the cover. The subtitle is embedded in the middle of the
Desire
A black and white image reminiscent of a Man Ray photograph helps to ground this novel in the proper historical setting.
Celestial Journey
This book is a collection of essays. A sailboat, rendered as a negative image, sails through a daytime sky.
Parallel Mind, The Art of Creativity
Parallel Mind, The Art of Creativity
The (missing) manual for your right brain
The Fortune Teller
Intricate flourishes on both the hand and the borders contrast the non-serif typeface.
Squawk! Social Media for Solitary Birds
The typography of the interior reflects the humorous tone of the book.
The Pearl
The illustration is filled with a black feather boa and a shell with a pearl.
The Way of Love
More Book Design