Since 2003, I’ve been involved with the Detroit-based InsideOut Literary Arts Project, a relationship that began over 20 years ago when I was their publications director.
I oversaw the publication of over two-dozen student-written books a year, each a culmination of work by several classrooms in each school. For a time I taught high school student how to design the book themselves in an after-school class that lasted several weeks.
Each cover design was either a direct use or adaptation of student artwork. In many cases the schools had no programs and so I was given little to work with. But in those situations, I made the most of what I had:
- Wear Consciousness was a simple pencil drawing of an abstract face, but I posed it as a mask and sprouted the words from within.
- All Eyes On Us — I had an abstract circle tracing, so I transformed into a dynamic tunnel of activity.
Others I created from scratch.
- Be Anything — worked with the students in a clay workshop to create… anything they wanted.
- Fresh Ink, City Breaths, and Zero Gravity: I used the title as an anchor to create these memorable covers.
But my relationship didn’t end when I left that job—I continue to design one book a year for iO for free, and will continue to do so as long as they need me.
