Kath Grimshaw

Kath Grimshaw – Designer

Book designer and illustrator. 20 years experience in publishing. Penguin, DK, Orchard, Templar, Scholastic, Ladybird, BBC, JKP and more.

Overview

I'm a creative book designer and illustrator, specializing in the children's book market. I began my career over twenty years ago working on the comic, Disney's Planet, and since then I have worked, both in-house and freelance for many publishers, including BBC Children's books, Penguin, Scholastic and Ladybird. My expertise ranges across licensed characters, reference, novelty and picture books, and I am skilled in Adobe Indesign, Illustrator and Photoshop.

I also have a passion for illustration and have illustrated books for Ladybird, Kingfisher and JKP, as well as my own book, Frankie's Foibles, published in 2016. I love to incorporate hand painted and drawn techniques and textures within digital artwork.

Whether it's with design or illustration, I can help to bring your vision to life.

Services
Non-Fiction
Children’s Non-Fiction Education & Reference
Fiction
Middle Grade Picture Books
Languages
English

Work experience

Self-employed

May, 2005 — Present

Since having my children I have worked freelance as a designer and illustrator for a number of clients, mostly, though not exclusively within the children's book industry. I've also designed book covers for sports/cookery and fiction.

DK, Ladybird, BBC Children's Books, Disney's Planet

Jul, 1999 — Mar, 2007 (over 7 years)

Portfolio

Sit!

Matt Harvey

Claudia Schmid’s drawings meet Matt Harvey’s words in this affectionate look at dogs and their humans. Sit! is an entertaining, occasionally surreal, but mostly down-to-earth celebration of the strange, satisfying relationship between dogs and their human comp... read more
The ultimate must-have for any fairy fan: a full color guide to your favorite Rainbow Magic fairies!The guide that fairy fans have been waiting for is finally here! There are 150 fairies inside!This full-color handbook is packed with fun, new information about... read more
In Zootropolis, 'Anyone can be anything'!' So, have a wild time boosting your school skills and you can be anything too! Just like bouncy young bunny Judy Hopps of the Zootropolis police force. She wants your help to solve crimes and catch crooks - which means... read more
Boost your child’s confidence by helping them to learn cursive handwriting with this wipe-clean workbook. On each page there are letter outlines to trace over, with an area for free-hand copying. Included with the book is a special pen, and the wipe-clean page... read more
New
BRAND NEW, Exactly same ISBN as listed, Please double check ISBN carefully before ordering.
BRAND NEW, Exactly same ISBN as listed, Please double check ISBN carefully before ordering.
It's time to be a hero! By day, they are Connor, Greg and Amaya, but by night they are Catboy, Gekko and Owlette, PJ Masks! It's Greg's birthday and he's super excited for his lizard-themed party, but when his cake goes missing, the PJ Masks must find the pesk... read more
Frankie is worried. He's worried about his new school, he's worried about making friends, and he's worried about the bully boys that wait for him on the corner of the street. But most of all, he's worried about what might happen if he steps on the cracks in th... read more
PJ Masks are on their way, into the night to save the day! By day, they are Connor, Greg and Amaya, but by night they are Catboy, Gekko and Owlette, the PJ Masks. Colour, stick and play in this interactive sticker book featuring everyone's favourite nocturnal ... read more
By day, they are Connor, Greg and Amaya, but by night they are Catboy, Gekko and Owlette, the PJ Masks. Discover a year of PJ Masks fun with the official annual. Jam-packed with super puzzles, games and activities, the annual has everything you need to know ab... read more
It's time to be a hero! By day, they are Connor, Greg and Amaya, but by night they are Catboy, Gekko and Owlette, PJ Masks! It's Greg's birthday and he's super excited for his lizard-themed party, but when his cake goes missing, the PJ Masks must find the pesk... read more
Ellie Jelly wakes up hungry and ready for breakfast, but Mum is busy with her little sister Grace. Ellie tries to get Mum's attention: she bangs the table, she makes loud singing noises, but it's no good. Finally she decides to make her own breakfast, picking ... read more
Illustrator Katie Scott returns to the Welcome to the Museum series with exquisite, detailed images of some of the most fascinating living organisms on this planet - fungi. From the fungi we see on supermarket shelves to fungi like penicillium that have shaped... read more

Kath has 16 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Jasmine M.

Jasmine M.

Mar, 2023

Kath was very pleasant to work with. She was very patient when it came to perfecting my vision for my book and she is very skilled! I would definitely work with Kath again.
Tresa G.

Tresa G.

Nov, 2022

Mrs. Kath Is a joy and great listener she was able to encompass my vision in both of my books. I look forward to working with you again on my next book.
Kath G.
It's been brilliant to work with Tresa again. I particularly appreciated her compassion and flexibility around deadlines which stretched due to me being ill with covid. I really love working on her...
Read more
steve S.

steve S.

Oct, 2022

Kath did a wonderful job designing my book. Her creativity was apparent from the start, and i especially love what she did with my cover, title, and dedication pages. She was communicative, patient, and always responsive to my questions and concerns, and worked well with my illustrator. In every way Kath was a pleasure to collaborate with, and I feel very fortunate to have found her. I can't wa...
Read more
Kath G.
Thank you Steve, it was great to work with you and I think the book is looking great. Both the words and illustrations are looking great. Kath
Nivi N.

Nivi N.

Aug, 2022

Kath delivered a fabulous cover and was absolutely wonderful to work with. She made sure she understood exactly what the author wanted, provided her professional design input, which was much appreciated, and provided concept options that were difficult to choose between, both being excellent! And she went above and beyond to provide elements of the cover for the title page and interior. Highly ...
Read more
Kath G.
I really enjoyed working with Nivi on this title. The brief was clear and there was fantastic communication throughout the process.
Allison H.

Allison H.

Jun, 2022

Kath created for us a very beautiful cover design. Exactly what we had in mind, even better. She was very professional and talented.

Sign up to read more reviews

Create a free Reedsy account to connect with Kath and thousands of other publishing professionals on Reedsy.

Professionals similar to Kath

Get a range of offers by requesting quotes from multiple professionals.

Mariya Stoyanova

Mariya S.

Freelance illustrator specialised in creating illustrations for children's books and character design.

Dorking, UK

99% reply rate

View profile
Mahendra Singh

Mahendra S.

Pen and ink illustrator, 38 years experience, with a classical/retro style suited to both adult and children's fiction and non-fiction..

Montreal, QC, Canada

100% reply rate

View profile
Basia Tran

Basia T.

Book cover designer and professional illustrator specializing in children's book, middle grade, and the fantasy genre.

Jersey City, NJ, USA

99% reply rate

View profile