Inspiring a year of creativity

Hardie Grant Books commissioned 365 Days of Art by illustrator Lorna Scobie, the first in what became a highly successful series of creative journals. The ambition was to inspire readers to nurture their creativity every day, with a design that felt playful, inviting, and distinctive.

We led art direction and design, creating a book that celebrated creativity in progress while setting the foundation for a design identity that could carry through multiple titles. The challenge was to design something flexible enough to carry a wide range of activities and techniques, but strong enough to establish a recognisable identity.

The cover featured a bright turquoise palette with spot-varnished illustrated splashes, paired with black spray-blocked edges for striking on-shelf impact. Inside, layouts were carefully balanced to accommodate activities ranging from simple shape drawing to detailed tutorials, always encouraging readers to experiment and explore.

The design template established in 365 Days of Art has been used across six books in the series to date, making this journal series a recognised and bestselling fixture in the creativity category. It also became a #1 bestseller on Amazon.