Client: Shannon Cairney through The Self Publishing Agency
Role: Cover Design, Interior Design & Production
Format: Paperback
Overview
Oh Hi, Hello Motherhood is a warm, candid and light-hearted take on motherhood, bringing together personal stories, reflections and advice for navigating the experience with humour and honesty.
Shannon came to the project with a clear interest in a retro-inspired look and shared examples of books and colour palettes she was drawn to. Working from that direction, I developed a visual system that felt playful and nostalgic while still keeping the book fresh and contemporary.
Creative Direction & Book Design
Shannon’s preferred palette included reds, yellows, oranges, browns and pinks, balanced with a muted retro blue-grey. I worked with photography created specifically for the book, removing the original backgrounds and arranging the portraits across the front and back cover.
Rather than using a single solid background colour, I created softly undulating bands of colour to give the cover more movement and personality. A bold, 1960s-inspired typeface became a key part of the visual identity, with its decorative alternates used selectively throughout the design.
The same visual language carries into the interior through expressive chapter headings and subheads, balanced by clean sans-serif body typography for readability. The result combines a playful retro character with a clear, modern reading experience.
