Design That Reads Between the Lines
Editorial Design
Editorial design is where stories settle in and start to breathe. I shape pages with clarity, rhythm, and a quiet kind of intention, guiding the eye, holding the reader, and giving every word room to bloom.
From structured grids to soft, expressive layouts, each piece is crafted to feel like a gentle conversation between text, image, and emotion. This is design that doesn’t just speak, it listens.
1.
Poetry Collection:
Where the Roots Ache
Project: ISTD (International Society of
Typographic Designers) Brief
2025
Where the Roots Ache is a typographic poetry collection that explores the intimate connection between the human body and the natural world. Each poem reimagines illness through the language and behaviour of plants, transforming symptoms into metaphors of root systems, wilted leaves, and new growth. In doing so, pain becomes an organic cycle, one that holds both fragility and renewal.
Created in response to the ISTD brief Not Just Fleurons, the book uses typography, pacing, and visual rhythm to echo emotional states and physical vulnerability. The type shifts, stretches, and breathes with each poem, guiding readers through quiet pauses, moments of tension, and gradual release. Visual restraint and intentional whitespace further emphasise the delicate balance between struggle and calm.
Deeply reflective and personal, Where the Roots Ache invites readers to slow down, sit with discomfort, and discover softness in resilience. It is an ode to healing, not as a linear journey, but as a living process shaped by decay, recovery, and the subtle beauty that emerges when we tend gently to ourselves and our roots.
Read the Digital Book
Experience the digital edition of the Where the Roots Ache book. Flip through the pages just like a physical copy using the left and right arrows to navigate.
Beyond Just
The Book
Where the Roots Ache goes beyond being a poetry collection. It evolves into an immersive, multi-sensory experience that bridges design, emotion, and nature. To deepen the reader’s connection to the book’s themes, three additional elements were created to extend the story beyond the page.
1. A Letter to the Earth
A postcard-style artefact printed on seeded paper and designed to mirror the book’s tone and visual language. Readers are invited to write a personal note to the planet, whether it’s an apology, a promise, or a hope, and then plant it in soil. As the seeds sprout, the act becomes a living metaphor for renewal and healing, reinforcing the book’s message of growth through vulnerability.
2. Wither Tags
A collection of ten poetic plant care labels, each linked to a poem in the book. These tags blend practical plant care advice with gentle, reflective reminders such as “If I droop, so do you.” Designed for use in plant pots or as bookmarks, they encourage readers to care for both their plants and themselves, turning everyday routines into mindful acts of empathy and awareness.
3. Tree Point-of-sale Display
In bookstores, the collection is presented on a custom-built wooden tree shelf. Shaped like an abstract tree, each branch holds copies of the book and sets of Whither Tags, inviting readers to metaphorically “pluck” their copy from the tree. This display transforms the act of discovery into a symbolic and tactile experience that mirrors the book’s exploration of growth and interconnectedness.
