Similar to 2019, I wanted to create an end of year book infographic with all the data I collect over the year about my reading habits. This is such a fun personal project for me and it helps keep my love for graphic design alive. I enlisted the help of my friend Kit to illustrate the opening cover and the witch character on the fantasy subgenre page.

I was particularly happy with the color palette this year. I decided to go with darker, more Autumnal, tones because I felt like that palette fit more with some of the books I read this year and I liked the idea of connecting the design to the subject of the books. You’ll also notice a bird motif used throughout a few of the pages. Again, this is to tie the design into the subject of the books I read. That’s also why I had Kit illustrate a witch for one of the pages. A lot of the books I read in 2020 had plots surrounding magic. I wanted to incorporate some imagery that I felt was connected to the idea of “magic” and chose witches and ravens, and incorporated those themes into the design. That is also another reason I wanted deeper Autumn tones in the color palette, since to me, the idea of magic is more connected to that season and those colors.

Below are the unedited illustrations Kit did for me. I wanted to utilize a lot of texture in the illustrations because I wanted it to feel tactile. I wanted to bring the Autumnal color palette I used to life. Particularly with the witch illustration, I wanted it to be dark and moody, but the texture in the image brings movement into it, which creates a compelling picture. With the cover image, Kit incorporated a lot of easter eggs, which makes the image really personal to me and fun for others to look through.