Page planning is a key part of any multiple page document. It’s a guide for all the people who form part of a project and a really useful overview for designers, editors and authors, saving time and money by making best use of space and printing savvy.

In my time I’ve unravelled lots of interesting problems. Some are workarounds often constrained by time and/or tech. Occassionally there aren’t sufficient in-house resources or a supplier has let the client down. Often it is repurposing old content for our digital era. Here’s a case study to inspire you.

Eager to crack open an image editing programme and get working on an image ready for Insta? Hang on a sec! Here’s a few points to consider before you do …

A blog post on how to use print finishes and effective design to make your customers feel valued with touchy-feely printed delights (I called it this because beautifully crafted keepsakes are and there wasn’t a better word then, or now!)

I was reading a post on a forum last week that asked about employing a formatter and it’s inspired these words as I felt it might be useful to untangle the language and roles. I also tested out Vellum to explore what apps offer and compared this to my bespoke skills. This post walks you though the Hello Lovely book page design process, explains what software I use, why and the stages, plus who to involve, what they do and why you may need them. The post covers print and ebook design across fiction and non-fiction.

This Tips and Tricks post discusses my image research services and advice on bespoke photography, licensing and copyright, model release, free image resources, paid image resources, search terms and good practice.

You’ve heard the phrase ‘judge a book by its cover’, I’m sure and it’s very true when it comes to publishing, in particular, self-publishing when authors have more control of spend and choices. What to put on the cover and how to brief it, who to commission and who does what can be exhausting and overwhelming. I’m going to assume you’re an interested author. This blog post aims to give an overview of the styles of book covers, who does what and best practice. Grab a seat and a cuppa as it’s going to be a long but useful post!

The starting point is a clear direction. Your brand values affect messaging considerations and design preferences for your logo, making it so much easier to work with designers, copywriters, strategists and internal teams. Here’s some questions to consider.