Client
Hal Leonard Europe
Impact
Nominated in the ‘Outstanding Music Education Resource’ category for the 2022 Music & Drama Education Awards.Â
The editorial director loved the book and it became a flagship project for Hal Leonard.
YolanDa also loved the design and was invited by Hal Leonard to speak about the book at the 2022 Music Expo.
Input
My Input: Art direction, cover and editorial design
Editor: Harry White
Author: YolanDa Brown
Illustrator: Sergio Sandoval
While working at Hal Leonard Europe, I was briefed to design an interactive activity book that would appeal to budding young musicians aged between 6 and 11 years old, and I was happy to take on the challenge.
Working closely with the editor, YolanDa and an illustrator, I designed a colorful, playful, and engaging activity book that incorporated her fun personality and signature style.
Inspiration
I was asked to feature a rainbow on the front cover and based the style and colour range of the book on a simplified version that I found from my research. I took inspiration from Yolanda’s colourful patterned outfits and I gathered similar patterns to use for background shapes and textures.
Changes
Initially, the book was going to be laminated throughout but we tweaked the idea midway through the project. Instead, we decided to provide downloadable material for the wipe-clean activities. We also had big plans to include stickers and a branded marker, but due to production costs, we had to change our plans. I was already almost finished with the design, so I had to think on my feet and create blank spaces for children to draw in instead.
Despite the challenges that came our way, I’m proud of what we created – a fresh and modern interactive children’s music education book that I hope will inspire and educate the next generation of musicians!
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Ruth Keating is one of the most professional, effective and meticulous designers with whom I have had the pleasure to work with. She is always attentive to mail, to my requests and willing to solve any of my problems. She is respectful with her collaborators and one of the few that I would follow wherever she goes. I hope to have the opportunity to continue collaborating with her in the future.