Southern Handbook
book design
A crash course on all things Southern: Different reasons someone might "Bless Your Heart" and a lot more advice you didn't know you needed. The second book in the Southern Series, written by Kelly Kazek and illustrated by Joshua Hamilton.
A Southern Series
As a deeply rooted midwesterner, I suffered a bout of imposter syndrome when I was first hired to work on this project. Was I qualified to design a series of books about the South? Could I capture its essence? Could I put the smell of Magnolia and the anticipation of opening day (hunting, not baseball) on a page? The Southern Thesaurus came first. I guess I didn’t botch that one too terribly because I was called back when it was time to put together a second book in The Southern Series: A Southern Handbook.
ten years
I lived in the South for ten years. Some days it feels like a blink, other days like an eternity. I went to college there, became an adult there, got married there, started my career there. I met so many wonderful people and participated in some fantastic traditions that I know I wouldn’t have gotten to experience in any other part of the world. (Check out the National Peanut Festival.) It verged on poetic that I finished this project the very month I moved away from the South.
Not my style
The Southern Handbook isn’t exactly my style. I’m more straight lines and earth tones than ornate flourishes and brights. The femininity of this book was a genuinely delightful challenge. Kelly, the author, writes with a little spice. And a few of Josh’s illustrations would have your nana saying “Oh, my STARS!” (I know. Just let me have this one.) The ultra-feminine design elements help balance that out. Turn the page and you’re in nana’s formal dining room, listening to uncle Earl’s 10-minute long Easter Sunday brunch blessing.
