Welcome to our first installment of our 'Behind the Scenes' series, where we give you a glimpse of what it's like working with us and what we do. Self-publishing is an exciting journey, it's also full of decisions. We're here to help make the design process seamless and stress-free.
So here's an inside look at the process of a typical design project at Simons & Glade Book Design. Whether it's a cover for a brand new book, a new logo and website for an up-and-coming author, or a 150,000 word interior formatting, we want our process to be collaborative. Even if you don't have an eye for design or know quite how to articulate what you're looking for, we love hearing your ideas and creating something that you're truly happy with.
01: KICK OFF
Starting on the Same Page
We kickoff each project meeting with you and/or having you fill out a quick questionnaire. This gives us insight into your style, what you like and things you don't. It's a time where you can share inspiration pieces with us and details about yourself or your manuscript. Even if you don't know exactly what you want, we're here to help and love talking through ideas. (As book-lovers ourselves, this is selfishly one of our favorite parts because we get to hear you talk about your books and projects.)
02: BRAINSTORM & MOOD BOARD
Your Vision Takes Shape
After the kickoff, we dive into our own research on relevant styles, color palettes, possible imagery and other inspiration. Then we pull it all together into a mood board (think of this as your very own curated Pinterest Dream Board) and meet with you virtually to review. This is a time to refine the direction and ensure all creative brains are on the same page. The mood board helps visualize styles, colors, and vibes, ensuring your project starts strong.
03: INITIAL CONCEPTS
Where the Magic Begins
This is where our ideas and your vision transform into visuals. We take everything we've learned and gathered for your project and create unique concepts. This can include different image styles, type treatments, and color combinations; concepts that are distinct to you and your project.
This is the moment your dreams visually start coming to life!
04: REVIEW MEETING
The Big Reveal
As much fun as we have working on the design concepts, unveiling them to you is such an exciting step! During this meeting, we get your first impression of each concept and what your like/dislike about them. We love talking through our design decisions as well as getting your feedback. The collaboration in this step is our 'secret sauce' in the process. Taking your initial gut reaction as well as digging into the specifics of what you like (and don't like) helps us refine our work in the next step.
05: ROUNDS OF REVISIONS
Fine-Tuning the Vision
This step in the process continues on our collaborative review meeting. We take your feedback from the review meeting and work on incorporating it into the design. We strive to provide you with a design that you are truly happy with and will work with you until you are in love with the end product. We're not happy until you are.
06: FINAL APPROVAL & FILES
Ready for Your Debut
When you're satisfied with the final revisions, we will provide you with all of the assets and file types you will need to use your designs. Whether that's the various files types to implement your new personal branding or images to show off you the cover for your next release, you'll have everything you need to start using your new artwork. This is our 'handing over the keys' moment and we're always excited to see you using all your artwork on the shelves and on social.
EXCITED TO SEE YOUR STORY COME TO LIFE? WE ARE TOO!
Our process is designed to be creative, collaborative, and ultimately fun! You have so many decisions to make on your publishing journey, our goal is to make the design decisions as easy as possible for you.
If you're ready to start your journey, reach out! We love talking to authors about what they're working on and seeing where we can help.
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