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Unseen Battles" is a companion book of ten true stories on depression, struggle, and recovery. The brief called for a cover that felt heavy but hopeful — something a reader in a dark place would still be willing to pick up. I built a double-exposure concept: a silhouette blending into a sunrise breaking over a mountain path, paired with distressed, hand-worn typography to keep the tone raw rather than clinical. Designed to spec for Amazon KDP (print + ebook trim sizes), with a companion badge callout for series branding.
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New cover, new visual taste test.
As a visual director, the hardest choice is choosing between your own creations.
Two covers. Two directions. One choice.
Which one gets your vote?
34 voted
79%
9 voted
21%
43 votes
Closed
the blue background makes the orange shapes pop
Nocturne is a self-initiated fragrance house I built from the ground up, treated with the same process I'd bring to any client: strategy first, then design.
The brief was familiar: a fragrance inspired by the city after dark. Most fragrance branding solves that with common approaches such as moonlight, mystery, or gold foil details. I wanted to solve it with something more specific: what does after dark actually look like in an urban environment? Concrete, streetlight, wet pavement, the quiet stretch between one train and the next.
That question shaped everything downstream. An archetype chosen deliberately against category convention, Creator and Explorer rather than the more expected Lover or Magician. A material-first approach to the bottle and packaging. Sandblasted glass, a textured concrete-like cap, no gold, no ornament. And a running checklist I held every decision against throughout the project.
The case study covers the strategy behind Nocturne, not just the finished system: positioning, personality, the reasoning behind each material and typography choice, and how those decisions translated into the bottle, packaging, and campaign work.
I'd love to hear what you think, especially if you enjoy seeing the thinking behind a visual identity as much as the final result.
Good Work!
Generated these looks in Midjourney — but the layout is what really pulls it together.
Grid, crosshairs, typography, detail callouts: same images, but the presentation makes them read like an actual editorial spread instead of just pretty pictures.
The grid, crosshairs, and detail callouts do more than decorate the Midjourney output—they turn it into an editorial system. Great example of how art direction can make a set feel like a coherent campaign.