Rosemary Strohm – Designer

"The details are not the details—they make the design."

This quote by Charles Eames—an innovator in architecture, furniture and industry—perfectly summarizes a winning philosophy for any designer. I believe details can literally make or break a viewer's experience.

I have created award-winning books, positively influencing every stage of development. My methodology is built on problem solving with compelling reasons to back up every creative choice. Concept is king when creating the perfect book layout.

Cover development, intricate interiors, working with illustrators and photographers, fine cover finishes, and creating designs that can expand into a series are my specialties. Years of experience in print production have honed my skills in palette development, font choice, and file preparation. Books for both adults and children are included in my portfolio.

At the beginning of my career, I was an art director in full-service advertising agencies. I still adhere to a sequence of brainstorming, identifying a main message, and understanding the target audience. After that, the path to developing a concept is clear.

In 2015 I started designing for Ascension Press, eventually becoming the creative director for over 80 of this company's most popular products, including "Bible in a Year" Companion Guide, "Pocket Guide to Adoration," and "You Are Enough" written by authors like Danielle Bean, Jeff Cavins, and Fr. Mike Schmitz.

As the Creative Director, I came up with several titles, including "No Greater Love" (a book and bible study on the passion and death of Christ by author Edward Sri), "Habits for Holiness" (a book on simple ways to increase virtue written by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) and "The Contagious Catholic" (a book by author Marcel LeJeune on practical evangelization).

For the children's book "Pray and Think Imaginative Rosary Book" I initiated the key component of "zooming in" on a portion of each illustration and adding "imaginative" prompts that kids would be able to ponder (thereby originating the title "Pray and Think" as well).

The company's recently published "Catechism of the Catholic Church – Ascension Edition" contains a 960-page interior that I designed and directed. I also had a hand in designing the cover and the explanatory chart which accompanies the book.

After leaving Ascension in August 2022, I am focusing on my own design business which specializes in the creation of books, journals and workbooks. Currently, I am working with independent authors on fiction, non-fiction and children's books, as well as embarking on collaborations with other publishing companies. I'm excited to expand my partnerships on Reedsy.