Portfolio
Missy Moo the Highland Coo | Picture book illustration, book design, marketing, and sales
Role: Author, illustrator, cover designer, and interior formatter
Challenge: Create an expressive, recognizable Highland cow despite the breed’s long hair.
Approach: Bold, clean shapes with richly painted fur textures, framed by custom nature-inspired pattern motifs.
Result: 5,000+ copies sold in 18 months, a Silver Moonbeam Children’s Book Award, and a growing brand including Missy Moo and Friends (colouring book) and the CCBC Starred Choice board book Peek-a-Boo Missy Moo!
A Killing Cold | Book design and layout
Role: Cover designer and interior formatter, for author Alice Fitzpatrick
Challenge: Alice, an established mystery thriller author, was moving from traditional publishing to self-publishing. Her existing readers expected the same polished look as her earlier books in the series.
Approach: I studied her previous traditionally published releases to match typography, font metrics, and page layouts, then built a custom interior template suited to the tolerances of print-on-demand (POD) printers.
Result: Margins and gutters line up correctly for self-publishing printers, and the finished book holds up beside traditionally published titles. Alice used it to launch her own independent publishing company.
Nonna & Nonno | Illustration, book design, and marketing graphics
Role: Illustrator, designer, and interior formatter, for author Frank Moyo
Challenge: Frank wanted his songs brought to life as picture books. Both titles needed English and Italian text on the same spread, in a way that stayed clear and uncluttered for young readers.
Approach: I illustrated both books and designed a custom, fully usable typeface for the project. It creates a distinct typographic hierarchy that balances the two languages and keeps the focus on the music’s warmth.
Result: Both picture books have sold over 50,000 copies, and Frank has been featured in media in Canada (BT, Streets of Toronto, Canada Media Fund) and Italy.
Butterflies Strong and Free | Project management, book design, logistics,
and marketing
Role: Project manager, designer, and creative director, for author Bethany Friend
Challenge: Bethany’s children’s book needed a smooth path from concept to finished product, with design, illustration, and publishing logistics all kept consistent.
Approach: I managed the project end to end: book design, interior formatting, marketing graphics, and publishing logistics. I also sourced and directed freelance illustrator Megan Lewis, so the art and design came together as one cohesive book.
Result: A polished, market-ready picture book that launched at a successful event at Commonplace Books in Ingersoll on October 10, 2026. Bethany thanked me for believing in her story and helping bring it to shelves.
