DK

Designing for clarity

Book cover titled "ADHD Explained" by Dr Edward M. Hallowell, featuring a blue background with a looping green line and DK logo.

DK commissioned us to design ADHD Explained: Your Toolkit to Understanding and Thriving by Dr Edward M. Hallowell, a New York Times bestselling doctor and TikTok creator. Inspired by his viral “NedTalks,” the book distils complex science and lived experience into short, accessible entries designed for readers with ADHD.

Open spread of ADHD Explained titled "What is ADHD?" with introductory text on a purple background with abstract shapes.

Our role

We designed the cover and internal spreads to support clarity and focus. Strong visual hierarchy, clean layouts, and well-placed illustrations were used to break down information into manageable pieces, making the book engaging as well as easy to navigate.

Open spread of ADHD Explained titled "The Martian test" with text and abstract space-themed illustrations of planets and a rocket.

Creative approach

The design balances authority with playfulness, pairing bold typography with illustrated spreads to bring key ideas to life. Every element was chosen to make the content quick to absorb while still visually appealing.

Open spread of ADHD Explained titled "Blurry boundaries" and "What are the colours of your ADHD?" with explanatory text.

Impact

A review in Advanced Counseling Bozeman praised the book as “fun and funny but also informative in a way ADHD brains can feel stimulated” and “easier to digest … manageable.”

Open spread of ADHD Explained titled "The perils of social isolation" with text and human illustrations.

Related projects

Book titled "Lives of the Great Makers" on a coral background, featuring a patterned fabric spine and a black-and-white photograph of an elderly craftsperson holding a handmade vessel. Subtitle credits editors Rebecca Knott and James Robinson, with Thames & Hudson and V&A logos at the bottom.

Lives of the Great Makers

Celebrating 500 years of creative excellence

Two DK books from "The Body Literacy Library" displayed side by side on a red background: "Heart: an owner’s guide" by Dr Paddy Barrett with a heart icon on a peach cover, and "Gut: an owner’s guide" by Dr Austin Chiang with a stylised intestine graphic on a pale yellow cover.

The Body Literacy Library

Designing a health series for a new generation

Overhead view of multiple open DK *Super Planet Series* books arranged on a blue background, showing colourful science-themed spreads on forests, oceans, medicinal plants, vertical farming, and water quality, with photographs, diagrams, fact boxes, and clear section headings.

Super Planet Series

Designing a curriculum-aligned children’s series