Book illustration
Illustrated book projects
An illustrated book is a different animal from a novel with a nice cover. Images and text compete for the same page, and the design has to decide, spread by spread, which one leads.
Overview
What this service covers
We take on full illustrated titles: cookbooks, natural history, art and craft books, gift editions, corporate histories and narrative non-fiction. Illustration and layout are handled together, because in these books they cannot sensibly be separated.
Most projects begin with a flatplan. Mapping every spread before artwork begins is what keeps an illustrated book from running fifteen pages over its signature count.
Process
Four stages, each with an approval point
Flatplan
The whole book is mapped spread by spread and agreed before anything is drawn.
Design system
Grid, typography and image treatment set and shown as sample spreads.
Production
Illustration and layout advance together, reviewed in signatures.
Proofing and delivery
Proof rounds, colour checks and final press files.
What we provide
The deliverables, item by item
Flatplan and pagination
Every spread mapped against text and image count before production begins.
Original illustration
Artwork drawn for the book rather than assembled from picture libraries.
Image and caption layout
Figures, captions and credits set as a consistent system through the book.
Infographic spreads
Data, timelines and processes drawn as clear editorial graphics.
Cover and jacket
A wrap that reflects the interior rather than arriving from a separate direction.
Press-ready production
Colour-managed files supplied to your printer's specification.
Who it suits
Commissioned most often by
If your situation is not on this list, describe it in an email and we will tell you plainly whether this is the right service.
Talk to our team- Illustrated non-fiction publishers
- Cookbook and lifestyle imprints
- Museums and cultural institutions
- Corporate and commemorative publishers
- Authors producing gift editions
Benefits
What you get out of it
No page-count surprises
The flatplan holds the book to its signature count from the start.
Images and text designed together
One team resolving both instead of two suppliers negotiating.
Consistent caption systems
Credits and captions handled as design, not as afterthought.
Colour you can trust
Proofs checked before the run rather than discovered after it.
Portfolio
Work in this category
A sample of studio work in this category.
Questions
Before you brief us
Ready to brief this project?
Send the details and a scope, schedule and fixed quote come back within one working day.