Be Prepared: A Practical Handbook for New Dads by Gary Greenberg and Jeannie Hayden

This title hits its 20th anniversary edition, and I worked on the 2/c conversion for this title, bringing in freelance artists for art throughout.

The cover sets the tone with a wry, illustrated dad holding an infant carrier like unexploded cargo, playing off a warm gold and cream palette that reads more field manual than nursery. That same loose, sketchy illustration style carries through the interior, part instruction guide, part comic relief.

Section openers get a soft, sepia-toned wash illustration bleeding across the spread, while inside, callouts do a lot of the work: reflex charts, "party tricks," and tongue-in-cheek warning labels break up the text like sidebar survival tips. Boxed author's notes and pull-quote panels in gold keep the practical advice from feeling too clinical.

The goal was a design that reads like a field guide with a sense of humor, useful, a little irreverent, and never taking itself too seriously.