A large part of being a freelancer is often needing to pitch your ideas to potential clients. One such opportunity presented itself while I was studying my Graphic Design degree. Adoption East Midlands had tasked Crash Rhino with the search for an artist, and my pitch was the one chosen. The book being produced was on the subject of home and belonging, with the core concept focused on how modern families are rarely nuclear.

My pitch was one of inclusion above all. The figures in my artwork would be birds of all sizes and shapes, with the concept being how any parental figure could envision themselves as that figure. Each of the chicks would be of different shapes and sizes also. The medium would be a soft digital painting so that the lack of hard edges would connote the undefined shape of a family. I used the colours of the AEM logo for the egg shells, and based much of their texture on the birds which natively nested in the East Midlands.

In my first meeting with Rebecca from Crash Rhino, we talked about my motivation and inspiration for this design. We discussed the AEM logo colours being featured in the egg shells, as well as the goal of using easily recognisable landmarks from the East Midlands (both Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire). To keep the design looking timeless and never dated, I wanted to use the more permanent landmarks which had been longstanding features of the landscape. The ones I found worked best for these purposes were the mountain Mam-Tor, Bolsover Castle, and Major Oak in Sherwood Forest.

Then came time for sketching out the cover design itself. Of course there needs consideration for the title and any logos which need placing for the final version. Unfortunately at this point in the development process, there was no title for the book. As a placeholder I used my own concept of "The Book of Belonging". In a later development meeting, the team liked this working title and - ironically - adopted it!

Once we had a finished design for the front cover, we had some further discussion with Jay Sandhu from Nott Another who was organising the layout and printing for the book. We each agreed that the overall design would be more cohesive and functional if the artwork was a full wrap around the spine. I offered to add this beyond the brief since it would enhance the impact of the book design on store shelves.

As part of the promotion for the book, we had a social media calendar agreed between all parties. For my part, I was asked to create an Instagram reel talking about myself, my process, and what it was that got me involved. Rather than recording endless B-roll, I decided the best use of visual storytelling to illustrate my narration was to add my chaotic sense of humour. This worked wonders and was a key part of the campaign for driving people to write and submit their creative literature.

Co-founder of Crash Rhino Rebecca Sandeman's testimonial:

"Luke's work as a graphic designer has been instrumental in ensuring our regional adoption campaign was a huge success. He's a conscientious, curious, meticulous and creative individual who was able to take a brief and develop it into something poignant and beautiful. Luke is also a fantastic collaborator and an absolute pleasure to work with, and would be an asset to any organisation.

His final design, as well as his incredible editing skills, brought a real emotive element to our campaign, which completely surpassed our expectations. I'd highly recommend his work to anyone and would be delighted to work with him again in the future."