Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle

Aftertaste blends emotional narrative with themes of memory, identity, and personal history, and the design needed to match the novel's quiet intensity.

The part openers are airy and restrained, with a soft oval graphic that gives each section a distinct visual anchor without feeling heavy. The typography stays elegant and understated throughout, with spacing and hierarchy doing the work of guiding the reader through tonal shifts. Moments like the flavor inventory page are given a looser, more expressive layout that feels true to the book's voice.

The goal was a design that moved with the writing, steady and controlled with just enough texture to keep it from feeling flat.