I had the joy to work on a children’s book for Norway’s lead publisher, Cappelen Damm. “Hånbok for unge antirasister” is written by Tinashe Williamson and aimed at kids ages 10-12. It discusses racism in Norway and is a tool for children and families to discuss difficult topics relating to race.
This book is in line with everything that I value as a person and an artist. Representation and focus on the younger generations is the best way that we can make lasting and impactfull change. Furthermore, the book has a set of characters that guide the reader through it and through discussion with eachother and the reader they explain the more difficult concepts in the book. This gave me the incredible task of designing the characters and that is where i started.
Characters
Without going into too much detail about each character, the main focus of the design was youthfulness and “cool” energy. We wanted them to reflect contemporary styles in a bright and bold way. Contrasts between sharp and soft lines also became a hallmark for the style.
Below are some of the early sketches for the characters.
Cover
The cover was a big undertaking with many rounds of sketching. The cover would have all the characters on it in a positive and empowered way.
Interior
The interior was a massive undertaking and with only one month to complete all the drawings it was absolutely essential to have a good system. I made a comprehensive Excel sheet of the 80 drawings , what page they were on and a brief description of them. Combined with my iPad to computer workflow I managed to keep a high production rate and great flexibility.