Photographer, Connie Reider was self publishing a book of her photography that included interviews she had conducted with people over 90 years old - who she called "wise elders." The book had been laid out by the self-publishing company, and Connie was very unhappy with the design. She asked me to redesign the 200-page book in about ten days.

The time constraint was literally a matter of life and death. We needed the book to be done in time for Connie's spiritual leader graduation ceremony. She also had stage four cancer and very little time left on earth.

The design issues with the previous design centered around a collection of quotes from interviews with people of all ages - talking about what it means to be a wise elder. These quotes were in addition to the interviews with the wise elders. In the original design, the quotes were distributed between the body copy paragraphs, making it a very confusing read; it was difficult to understand who was talking. There didn't seem to be a design grid, and the book looked undesigned. Connie liked the serif body font, so I started there.

I pulled the quotes away from the body copy and enlarged them, emphasizing them more and keeping them in the appropriate interview while not interrupting the reader flow. I used Connie's photography as dividers between interviews. The permission to incorporate this much white space was a true treat - as was the actual material I was working with. I was inspired by the wise elders and Connie. I loved working with Connie and friends to complete this book in time for her to enjoy it before she died less than two months later.

This book was the most meaningful project I've ever been involved in, and I'll never forget Connie.