Overview
** Now taking bookings from December 2024 **
Hi, I'm Dani! I've been art-directing and designing books and publications professionally since 2009. Children's books have been my speciality for nearly a decade, having worked for traditional publishing houses in both in-house and freelance roles.
I began my publishing career as an editor and art director of the cult UK lifestyle magazine Oh Comely (now called Oh), where I fell in love with working with illustration in editorial design. From there I went to work as a designer and art director in the Children's department of Carlton Books (since bought by Welbeck, then Hachette). Being a coedition publisher meant that books that I worked on have been translated into various languages and sold by many different imprints all over the world. I'm particularly proud of my work on the STEM Quest series and official Jurassic World AR books (childhood dream achieved). I left my inhouse role at Carlton after a few years to move back to my home city in Australia, and have continued to work with publishers as a freelancer.
My design style is focused on balancing marketability with artistry. I want authors that I work with to have super-sellable book covers that catch their readers' eyes, whether the book is sitting on a store shelf or a thumbnail image on an online marketplace. I also understand that books and stories are precious to their authors and my part in them, as a designer, often comes in after years of dreaming and hard work. With that, I offer patience, respect and as much guidance as I can offer from my years of experience in children's publishing.
Please note that the images in my gallery are intended to demonstrate my design skills and experience only. The images show books that I have worked on in a designer or art director capacity, and copyright © of the books and intellectual property licensed for those books remains with the legal copyright owner(s).
Services
Non-Fiction
Fiction
Languages
Awards
- EDITOR'S CHOICE Children's Technology Review '18: Excellence in Design (for iExplore Bugs)
- WINNER Bologna Ragazzi Digital Awards '18: VR/AR Category (for iExplore Bugs)
- WINNER British Book Design & Production Awards '15: Best Interactive Multimedia Book (for Jurassic World: Where Dinosaurs Come to Life)
- FINALIST Licensing Awards '15: Best Written, Listening or Learning Range (for Jurassic World: Where Dinosaurs Come to Life)
Certifications
- BA in English - University of Western Australia
- BA (Honours) in Graphic Communication Design - Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design (University of the Arts London)
Work experience
Self-employed
As a freelance designer I specialise in children's books and publications. I work with both traditional publishers and independent authors. I do covers, interiors and marketing materials.
Carlton Books
At Carlton Books (now Welbeck Books) I worked in the Children's department as an Art Editor, which was a combined graphic design and art direction role. With Carlton being a co-edition publisher, books that I worked on were published across the globe in over 13 languages through publishers including Scholastic, National Geographic and Barron’s. I continued to work with Carlton / Welbeck as a freelance designer after I left my in-house role.
I loved being able to produce kids books with wonderful illustration and work on publications (and apps) for high-value brands like My Little Pony, Mensa Kids, the UK's National Science Museum and my personal favourite: Jurassic World!
Adeline Media (Oh Comely magazine)
Oh Comely was an intelligent, independent lifestyle magazine with a big heart and a sense of mischief. I was part of Adeline Media, the creative team that developed and launched the publication and brand (the magazine was bought by Iceberg press in 2016).
My role was an integrated one, including:
- Helping to develop the magazine's editorial tone and visual style,
- Art directing and commissioning the illustrated content,
- Creating design layouts for print and online
- Contributing feature articles, interviews, headlines, blog posts and marketing copy (along with the odd photo and illustration of my own)
- Creative direction of Adeline Media's agency work
