RED HEN PRESS
RED HEN PRESS
September 2024 - Present
I’ve been interning with Red Hen Press, a small independent publishing company in Pasadena designing and illustrating original book covers for some of their upcoming book releases. These book covers were all conceptualized by me and were revised to varying degrees after receiving feedback from both the editorial team and the authors themselves.
They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but I hope you enjoy these book covers :)
PANDORA’s KITCHen
Poems by Ron Koertge, Published by Red Hen Press (2025)
Pandora’s Kitchen is a modern book of poetry that uses humor and pop culture references to examine and dissect thought-provoking topics. The idea of poetry as an art form often brings with it ideas of intellectualism, classical literature, and the epic tales of Greek Mythology, so with this cover design I wanted to modernize that idea, mirroring the very thing the poems in the book do so well.
When I examined the tone of the writing and considered an artistic way to represent the way they consistently twisted the reader’s preconceived notions about poetry, I was instantly inspired by American Pop Art in the 1960s. The Pop Art movement was defined by a previously unheard of engagement and use of pop culture in fine art, an ideology that fit perfectly with this tongue in cheek style of poetry. Using imagery from the traditional Greek myth of Pandora and combining it with classic pop art techniques, I illustrated a variety of colorful book cover comps that were perfectly harmonious with the poems and the author’s vision for his work.
Final chosen cover design
CHAGOS ARCHIPELAGO
A novel by Tom Lutz, Published by Red Hen Press (2025)
Chagos Archipelago is a thriller novel follows multiple suspicious narrators as they begin to uncover the web of lies that tie them all together. As these seemingly unrelated people collide, the legitimacy of their identities as a assassins, oceanographers, and members of the military begin to come into question.
For the cover design, I wanted to incorporate the theme of naval intrigue through the use of boat imagery and employ a somewhat aggressive color story that would convey the danger inherent throughout the narrative.
Final chosen cover design
THE OPPOSITES GAME
Poems by Brendan Constantine, Published by Red Hen Press (2025)
Final chosen cover design
THE INDEPENDENT ANT
Writing in the Schools, Student Anthology, 2024-2025 Edition
Every year, Red Hen Press publishes a book of student writing from participating schools in LA County. The book is the final product of the Writing in the Schools Initiative, which is meant to encourage kids to hone their writing skills and have fun creating stories.
Because this edition was called The Independent Ant, I wanted to create a design that featured one stand out ant. I chose to give the cover a bit of a risograph look by implementing traditional riso colors, using the multiply effect, and implementing the dot pattern to replicate halftones.
Final chosen cover design