Illustration of a woman handing a book to a seated man, with a dog nearby.

READERLY

Branded Illustration System

Twelve animated illustrations with accompanying visual library.

“Book recommendations, Reimagined”. A full suite of illustrations and visual direction for a new type of digital book platform that values authenticity, human input, and a true representation of the worlds leading voices both large, small, and underrepresented.

CLIENT
Readerly

ADDITIONAL HELP
Glenn Thomas

Book recommendations, redefined.

In a world where robots and advertising revenue dictate what books we see, how can we get back to the warmth of a trusted loved one sharing a book they enjoyed with us.

Illustration of a desk with a computer displaying website content and design elements. Items on the desk include a plant in a vase, books, a lamp, a keyboard, and pens.
Illustration of diverse hands holding various books and writing implements
Illustration of a person working on a laptop in a plant-filled room with a cat on the window ledge, a vase of sunflowers on the table, and various houseplants around.
Illustration of three concepts: Community, Disruptive, and Inspired, with images and descriptions for each. Community features diverse, warm, interactive visuals; Disruptive focuses on textured, stylized artwork; Inspired conveys whimsical, emotionally impactful designs.
Abstract art with rectangular shapes in brown, yellow, and muted purple on a white background.

Pillars

We built the style around three core pillars that act as a guiding light or north star. They are disruptive; seen in the harsh brushing and paper cuts, community; seen in the color palette and general kids book reference, and inspired; visualized through the interactions between the characters and sparks of magic and joy throughout.

I wanted to create a set of illustrations that complimented that alternative approach with harsh angles and textures while also demonstrating the community driven love that goes into the recommendations, and pay homage to classic book covers and the inspiration the stories hold.

Visual Library

We created a flexible and diverse set of illustrations to be used and reused throughout both the marketing site and product. It was important to have a modular system that allowed us to pull apart and break down the illustrations for various applications.

Below are some of the assets pulled out of the larger illustrations to create a modular library.

Illustration of various indoor plants, books, and home decor items such as a lamp, vase, globe, and chalkboard. Includes images of a book titled 'Normal People' on a smartphone and e-reader.
Twelve hand-drawn pink icons: a microphone, wine glass, award ribbon, star, speech bubbles, heart in a bubble, lightning bolt, feather, notepad, heart with rays, gears.

Generated Imagery

We used some fun CSS masking and automation to feature book covers based on the users interests through our illustrations. These book covers are clickable and will direct the user to the book's purchasing page and can be generated on the fly based their preferences and previous interests.

Illustration of two people interacting in a cozy room. One person is seated on a table, extending a hand to receive a book from the standing person. A small dog is nearby. The room has shelves with books and decor, and a backpack on the table.
Illustration showing three books in different formats: physical book, ebook, and audiobook. Each set includes a book cover image and icons for Bookshop.org and Google Play. There's also an illustration of earbuds next to each format.

Responsive Design

Additionally we built the illustrations with responsive (mobile first) designs in mind. Being able to serve small, medium, and large illustrations based on the screen size and device (mobile, tablet, desktop, etc) made sure the characters and interactions always take precedence over the background.

Three illustrated scenes of a woman in a bookstore. In the first scene, she walks with a book under her arm. In the second scene, she stops and points at a glowing book on a shelf. In the third scene, she stands facing the shelf with her arm partially visible.

Process & Sketches

Illustration collage depicting diverse characters and scenes, including people in various activities like reading, working in studios, and interacting in groups. Some characters are sketched, while others are colorful digital illustrations. The scenes convey a sense of community and creativity.

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A person with short, light purple hair and a mustache wearing a dark t-shirt stands in front of a backdrop with illustrated palm trees and abstract shapes.
Abstract design with an orange starburst, green scribble, and white swirl on a white background.

MORE WORK

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MORE WORK ✱

Cartoon character playing a drum while running, holding drumsticks, and wearing a pink hat with a peace sign.
Billboard for Chase bank reading "Now Open" with cityscape and nature illustration.
Illustration of a stylized blue sports car with a large rear spoiler and flames coming from the exhaust on a black background.
Cartoon-like character with large eyes and a tilted hat, made of geometric shapes.
Illustration of a person standing next to a street organ and keyboard in an urban setting with buildings and a tree in the background.