Role: Creative Direction | Book, U.S. Book Tour and Digital Marketing Campaign, Project Management

Did you ever feel like you missed a class on how to be an adult? How to Skimm your Life is a book that breaks down some of the less glamorous parts of being an adult. Covering everything from personal finance, to career, to stress management, global politics, and more. I led a cross-functional team of theSkimm's co-founders, editors and marketers to bring theSkimm's brand identity to life through this product; a 256 page, 4 color, hardcover book. Through our collaborative marketing campaign, and 10 US city book tour, the title landed as a #1 New York Times Bestseller.

After receiving an almost completed manuscript I was able to assess the project scope, put together a proper team to complete the project and develop a project timeline. From there I began by developing visual vision for the book including layout, typography, and a proper grid system.

One of the largest challenges I was faced with with the project was the timeline. After receiving the manuscript our goal was to release the title approximately 6 months later. In order to properly concept and develop all of the visual needs for the book we needed all hands on deck. I hosted a full day ‘book-a-thon’ where I gathered all team members of the editorial and design teams, divided up the chapters of the book and assigned them to different teams to read allowed together and brainstorm unique on brand ideas to pair with the text. The exercise was extremely successful, the teams were energized and excited about their collaborative involvement in the project. The day resulted in hundreds of post-its layered onto the manuscript with incredible ideas to consider. From there, we were able to develop low fidelity wires of the chapters and begin to assign to our illustrators the visual needs.

Here is a selection of some of my favorite spreads in the book.

As the book neared its completion we shifted our efforts to focus on our 10 city US book Tour. We called the event the How To Skimm Your Life Night Out.