Self-initiated portfolio project. The Indie Author Companion is a structured educational workbook walking independent authors through the seven stages of publishing, from manuscript to launch, with enough visual system to hold the complexity without overwhelming it. The core challenge was making a multi-stage, information-dense process feel clear and usable on the page. The Publishing Road spread at the heart of the book required a custom illustration built in Illustrator: connected circle-and-box elements, mirrored layout, and a dotted path threading the stages together into something that reads as a journey, not a list.

From there, a consistent design language was built across the full document: dot grid backgrounds for warmth and usability, ghost flourishes inhabiting pages at low opacity, blob corner headers, marker-highlight section anchors, and a callout system with consistent visual grammar throughout.

Produced in InDesign and Illustrator. Exported print-ready.

Self-initiated portfolio project.

The Goldilocks Journal is a 90-day rhythm record built around a personal energy-tracking system: four energy states, daily signatures, inner seasons, and weekly reflection. The design challenge was making a structured methodology feel warm and approachable — not clinical like a spreadsheet, not vague like a generic wellness journal.

The interior runs across three distinct page types: instructional spreads, weekly overview and daily check-in pages, and focus tracker pages. A consistent ornamental system — gold circular flourishes — threads throughout. Functional elements (checkboxes, tables, fill-in lines) use a restrained palette of warm gold, sage, and terracotta to stay usable without losing warmth.

A watercolor bear illustration, framed in gold, anchors the tracker section and carries the brand feel into the most data-heavy pages.

Produced in InDesign. Exported print-ready.