As a graphic designer, I am constantly collecting random things for their typographic inspiration. I have a massive collection of postcards, erasers, matchboxes, business cards—the list goes on. One of my oddest obsessive collections is four years worth of Muni transfer slips. There is something so graphically pleasing about them. Each month is a new color. The grid is tight and the typography is clear and informative. I started collecting the transfer slips shortly after I moved here and four years later, boy, do I have a collection.

Collection from 2009

Collection from 2012

Something I didn’t expect when I started this collection was how the transfers could act as a kind of memento of my daily life. Looking back over these, I think about what was going on in my life. They have become precious to me not just for their graphic beauty but what they remind me of. I write notes to myself on some of the more important ones to remind myself later. For someone who has never been a journal keeper, it’s nice to have something to record memories.

“Giants game with Mike for his birthday. They won 3-2 against the Cubs.”

Do you have a collection that brings you inspiration? Mementos from travels? Ordinary objects from everyday life?

And remember, do not litter.

Sarah Higgins
Publishing Design Fellow

Beer Makes Daddy Strong

Beer Makes Daddy Strong was one of my favorite books to work on along with Wine Makes Mommy Clever simply because the books are so funny! Andy Riley cracks “punny” and witty jokes alike, I’m not going to lie I caught myself reading the pages often when I was supposed to be working on the eBook. Oops! In this particular case we made the eBook look just like the print book.

Newborn Puppies

This brand new book, Newborn Puppies, is adorable in print. With beautiful colors and spreads full of adorable dogs all under 3 weeks old it was a pleasure to work on the eBook. We decided to keep some of the color (and of course all of the puppies!) in a variety of ways like these fun line breaks.

Golden Gate Bridge

I’m new to San Francisco, so when Golden Gate Bridge showed up on my list of eBooks I was delighted. It’s chock full of illustrations and little known facts about the famous art deco inspired bridge. Did you know that several branches of the military proposed color schemes like yellow and black stripes? Personally I’m happy with the orange. We kept all of the fonts and illustrations from the print book and tried to include some of the decorative touches from the print pages.

A Sky Full of Kindness

A Sky Full of Kindness is a book composed entirely of paper cuttings. Yes that’s right, those delicate little birds were cut out of paper. We were able to preserve the pages as they appear in the print book and even better you can zoom in on these intricate pieces of art.

We Love Madeleines

We Love Madeleines made me hungry just looking at it! Chronicle Books spent a lot of time working on the Apple iBook version of this print book. It’s full of gorgeous and colorful photos, decorative borders and of course delicious recipes. We were able to alter the print format to fit the iBook so it looks just as stunning as the print version!

Miette

I didn’t work on Miette personally but I couldn’t resist putting it in among my favorites. The iBook version is the one pictured above and even has the print versions scalloped edges. It’s certainly one of the most beautiful eBook cookbooks I own.

That wraps up a very short list of my favorite titles (trust me there are many more). But its a nice collection of eBook titles that were modeled after the original print books. Now we’re working on enhancing the print content with things like audio and video and as ereaders get more advanced, we’ll be able to add even more content.

Veronica Thompson

Digital Media Design Fellow

I have another type of cookbook collection as well, which is composed of recipes that I don’t actually use for cooking. I’ve found these books in dusty corners of garage sales, flea markets, and second-hand bookshops. Most are from the fifties, sixties, and seventies, and many were published by a corporation in order to promote their own product, whether it be cutlery or condensed milk. While I can’t say that I go to these books when I’m looking for cooking inspiration (dishes like “Ham Glamour” and “Veal Supreme” don’t really tempt me), I am drawn to them visually for their strange and playful illustrations; staged photography of bountiful, though unappetizing, meals; and campy yet considered typography. The editorial content is pretty funny too, and tends to mirror the culinary culture of the time. Take a look at some of my favorites.

Borden’s Eagle Brand: 70 Magic Recipes
Copyright 1952 The Borden Company

Borden has published tons of these advertising cookbooks.

Elsie the Cow has been Borden’s mascot since 1936. Her husband, Elmer the Bull, is the mascot for Elmer’s Glue, which Borden owned until 2003.

Cutco Cook Book: World’s Finest Cutlery
Copyright 1962 Wear-Ever Aluminum Inc.

Cutco knives make veal very exciting.

Cook Electrically… The Easy Flameless Way
Copyright 1962 Edison Electric Institute

“Live Better Electrically”

Home Canning and Freezing Methods Sketch Book
Compliments of the Ball Brothers Company, Inc., Muncie, Indiana

Vacuum sealing? Head space? Canning?

Betty Crocker’s New Dinner for Two Cook Book
Copyright 1964 General Mills

Betty Crocker bread

McCall’s Cocktail-Time Cookbook
Copyright MCMLXV The McCall Corporation

Caviar!

Good Housekeepings’s Quick ‘n’ Easy Cook Book
Copyright 1958 The Hearst Corporation

“time saver-dishes for today’s busy woman”

Ham Glamour/Veal Supreme

A Book of New Recipes: Quality Mayonnaise by Seidner
c. 1930s

“Highest egg yolk content will be found in Seidner’s.”

“It’s the mayonnaise that makes the salad.”

Dinah Fried
Publishing Design Fellow

Ryan Diaz, Publishing Design Fellow

Seasons Greetings everyone! I was probably the messiest one of the bunch. I think I’ve read studies about cluttered desks and how they actually show signs of productive thinking, but I guess I can’t find it under all my stuff. Granted, I did exaggerate the state of my desk for the purposes of this blog post, but only because there are so many things I want to talk about.

This fellowship at Chronicle Books has been one of the most engaging and challenging work experiences I’ve ever had in my admittedly short career, but at the same time, the level of camaraderie and support has made me feel like I can really let loose and still be myself. The desk is only one such example.

From holiday themed cats to a guide for getting hitched with a twist, the variety of projects on my desk has never been lacking in terms of breadth. Looking at the jumble of words, ideas and topics before me each morning inspired me and mirrored my own thought processes.

Some of the most fun things I’ve worked on came from the unique program every Design Fellow participates in during their time here: Design Lab. Under the supervision of our creative director, Michael Carabetta, we were given project briefs meant to expand our thinking, dreaming up products that Chronicle might even one day produce (1). Books and formats like the Designer’s Notebookcreated by a previous Chronicle design fellow is a direct result of these exercises.

Some other things I could go on and on about are contact sheets for illustrators that I had the job of suggesting for a project. Stacks of book galleys are another major feature of my desk space, which I was always excited to receive back from the editors and accomplished to turn back in with all the revisions (2). And lastly, my humble office plant, Henry Diaz (3), for everything he reminds me of; old friends in Seattle who were always missed, new friends at Chronicle Books who kept him watered when I was away and excellent ribbon dance partners by their own right, and last but by no means least, a special someone back home with whom I can’t wait to share the rest of my stories from Chronicle Books.

Thank you Chronicle Books for having me, it has been an honor and a beautiful mess and I am so proud of this pile of work.

Daniel Triassi, Publishing Design Fellow

For me, one of the most gratifying aspects of the design fellowship has been the diversity in both projects and people. Working at Chronicle meant my days could range from picking elegant Pantone colors for a food and drink title to designing the back cover for a book about, of all things, farts. This also meant I had the opportunity to work alongside an array of talented designers who each shared their feedback and knowledge with me and were advocates for my success and growth.

From the start, one of the first assignments to land on my desk was a baking kit. Instantly, my inner-foodie rejoiced. Here, I had a unique opportunity to explore multiple facets of graphic design as I considered the elements of the package. I particularly enjoyed developing custom patterns. I researched and explored type-driven solutions as well as played with various mediums and motifs. (1) By the end, I had roughly over 50 different patterns that were narrowed down to three final directions. The remnants of these can still be found littering my desk and have effectively been re-used for holiday wrapping paper.

Aside from a motley mix of projects, other perks of working at Chronicle include the many tasty treats and office events. On this particular day, we were celebrating the title Perpetual Harvest for which I was given a handful of organic beets. (2)

On other days I celebrated the Frankfurt Book Fair with a hot dog (known around Chronicle as ‘Frankfurter’ day), a super galactic Halloween (3) in space and I even met the famous Internet dog, Maddie the coonhound.

Throughout my fellowship I was simultaneously challenged and inspired by the titles I worked on and the people I worked with. As I turn the page, a huge thank you to all at Chronicle Books for the enrichment and lifelong memories that I now possess.

Jackie Jakob, Digital Media Fellow

1. The code behind e-books is very similar to the web, but I was never as much of a coding nerd until I met my mentor Holden. We can’t go one normal conversation without one of us throwing out lines of code as everyday colloquialisms. And I say ‘we,’ but we all know it’s just me…

2. Things don’t always add up. The great thing about e-books is the control the reader is given, from the device end of things. Within the device, the reader can change font size, typeface, margin, and even leading to create the reading environment they prefer to inhabit. Because of this, on our end, we provide the best options for each book, but we know that things can be changed, so our job is to protect the integrity of the content and maintain the hierarchy. The biggest challenge we have is understanding what each device is capable of and always trying to push these limits with innovative ideas.

3. The digital fellowship is a very different from the other three. You follow your own path and no one is too sure what exactly you are working on, mainly because you work on a lot in a short period of time. Each week there is an average of five books that I’m responsible for completing, which requires quick and calculated decisions to produce the best book possible. The editors and designers are great resources to help understand the book better and it’s always amazing to hear about a book from their perspective. A lot of what is important in a book involves the relationship between the content and how it is presented. As we make e-books, we have to consider these things so the reader can walk away from the digital and print book with the same conclusions.

4. I’ve spent 12 months working for Chronicle Books and I have enjoyed every moment spent with this amazing group of people. Being here has really felt like being welcomed into a big family, and I’m glad I was able to learn from, get to know, and laugh with everyone here.

Lydia Ortiz, Marketing Design Fellow

Cleaning out your work desk at your dream job is not an easy feat. As I wrap up this yearlong fellowship (6 months as a Marketing fellow, 6 months as a Design Publishing fellow), I unearth a ton of memories. I dig out a mountain of random things from under my desk; pages and pages of preliminary book designs, storyboards, tons of illustrations, unused collage pieces, expired multivitamins, (1) Mexican Batman, letters from officemates, prank props, wigs, (2) rubber knife (I was a stabbing robot (3) for our Halloween party), just to name a few. How can I leave this place! Sitting on the office floor, surrounded by this creative mess, I realize how much I’ve experienced and accomplished in the past year. I have been so privileged to work on so many inspiring titles as a Design Fellow. It’s an awesome feeling holding an advanced copy of books you gave birth to, (4) Bay Bridge and (5) Hand-Crafted Candy Bars. I was also fortunate enough to work with the amazing Marketing team, and got to know the Chronicle Books brand better. It was a blast dreaming up our paper holiday video and building it entirely with paper (6 & 7) and it’s exciting to see it get thousands of views in just its first week of release.

Chronicle Books is awesome, their people are unforgettable, their products pack so much character, and their fellowship program has so many promising opportunities to offer young designers.

So I’m all packed up, fully armed and eternally grateful. This fellow has finally flown the coop!

The status symbols of today may be seen in elaborate getaways or fancy cars. However historically, before the invention of the printing press, books were once considered the ultimate status symbol because of their rarity.

This status was graphically represented by ex libris, the Latin expression meaning ‘from the books of,’ or more commonly in English called bookplates. This mark of prestige in society, emerged in Germany in the fifteenth century. Bookplates were custom made by artists for the library owner, commonly depicting crests, mottos or the owner’s family coat of arms.

Bookplates have been designed and owned by a distinguished lot. Artists and engravers such as Paul Revere, M.C. Escher and Rockwell Kent have all developed bookplates.

On the other side, famous owners of bookplates include: Queen Victoria of Great Britain, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sigmund Freud, Walt Disney and Jack London.

Here at Chronicle Books, we never got the memo that an ample book collection no longer correlates to the ultimate status symbol. Who needs a Swiss vacation and a Rolls-Royce?

Instead, here are a collection of bookplates from our archives to inspire:

Carpe Diem Journal, by Mary Kate McDevitt

Let’s Bring Back, by Lesley M. M. Blume

Collected Quotations Journal, by Julia Rothman

One Good Deed a Day Journal

This Book Belongs To, by Grady McFerrin

Ahoy! Eco-Journal, by Julia Rothman

Daniel T.
Publishing Design Fellow

Luckily, Chronicle Books has a veritable plethora, an embarrassment of riches, if you will, of journals and notebooks, some even already task-oriented! One of my personal favorites is the Mini Goals Notepad because no task is so mini it can’t be solved.

If you need some inspiration for how to keep your very own to-do list, I’ve compiled some of the lists of the design fellows at Chronicle Books. Hopefully these examples will inspire you to do a to-do.

Jackie uses a notebook with dates, but the sticky notes and loose sheets she maintains at the same time reveal how unexpected additions to her day still happen. It seems she sometimes gets ahead of herself and scribbles small additions into every little space she can. It’s amazing how small her handwriting can get, and her system seems to accommodate for a lot of information. I’m sure anyone would need a to-do list system with this much on her plate.

Tara is as organized and clean as she is industrious. Looking at her notebook, I notice that it’s airy, calm, and measured. She isn’t spilling into every available space on the page, probably because she tackles problems and tasks just as calmly. Coincidentally, Tara uses Chronicle’s very own Let’s Bring Back Journaland with it she wishes we could all go back to a time when everyone kept to-do lists.

Danny, like Jackie, is the kind of person who likes to cross off tasks as they are completed. It’s something I’m not as used to doing, but I can understand how it must make no task too big it can’t be accomplished. I think looking back on dates filled with striked-out items would feel really awesome. It also seems Danny combines work and personal tasks together in this book, which is good so everything is in one place. I hope he gets his mother those gifts!

Lydia seems to have both the most difficult and the most fun tasks out of all of us, since when she’s not tinkering on her robot, she’s optioning a wizard on the side. There’s some flair in her work and her lettering shows it. I’m also jealous that she needs to find ice cream, but who isn’t already always doing that every second they don’t have ice cream in front of them?

While at Chronicle Books during my fellowship I’ve started keeping index cards of loosely compiled to-do lists, one for each day. Hopefully I can keep on making a new one every day until this fellowship concludes! The card is usually filled with little reminders, sometimes just notes of something to look up later, names of designers whose work I admire, and mariachi/beluga whale videos I’ve watched online. I do a lot of work here at Chronicle, I swear.

If you want more of a push to complete your own to-do lists, many others throughout history have kept their own to-do lists in their own way. From Benjamin Franklin to Einstein, everyone had to create their own ways of accomplishing tasks, making it visual, and reducing steps down to their most essential parts. If you have an interesting manner of creating to-do lists, please tell us in the comments section, or just put it on your list, I’m sure you’ll get around to it!

Ryan D.
Publishing Design Fellow

Ryan D., publishing fellow

Ryan hails from Washington State where he graduated from University of Washington in 2011. Ryan has completed some impressive internships with McSweeney’s, the Henry Art Gallery, and Digital Kitchen in Seattle. In his work at McSweeney’s, he designed Love, An Index, their first collection for their Poetry Series among other projects. He impressed us with his thoughtful approach to all his projects, particularly his self-initiated ones. I would be remiss to not also mention his incredible typographic skills! Wow. Ryan loves to write almost as much as design, particularly poetry. He also enjoys reading, yoga, video games, art, and soul music. We are excited to have him here!

Check out some of Ryan’s work:

Daniel T., publishing fellow

Daniel is a California native, who graduated cum laude from Cal Poly in 2011. Daniel is also interested in writing—he finished Cal Poly with a double major in Journalism and Graphic Design. Daniel’s portfolio shows his great attention to detail as well as his playful approach to design. His charming redesign of the Hardy Boys Mystery Series for his senior project won him a scholarship award from Bookbuilder’s West in 2011. Daniel impressed us with his thoughtful concepts as well as his thorough process. In addition to his interest in books, Daniel loves fashion, getting outdoors, watching the SF Giants, and hitting the Alameda flea market where he hunts for unique vintage trophies to add to his growing collection. We are looking forward to having him on our team!

Check out Daniel’s work here:

Tara C, children’s fellow

Tara is an amazing locally based talent, having lived in the Bay Area for the last 15 years. She received her B.S. from Berkeley, but then felt something was missing and found her way to art school. She just graduated with distinction from CCA and won the thesis award. In addition, she was the recipient of the Richard and Jeane Coyne Foundation Scholarship through Communication Arts.Tara is a food lover—Papalote is her favorite burrito joint, and she just had lunch at Shanghai Dumpling King in the Richmond—and highly recommends it. She previously taught cooking and gardening to kids, and recently returned from Bora Bora where she and her husband enjoyed a second honeymoon! We are thrilled to have such an accomplished designer onboard in the Children’s Publishing Group.

Take a look at some samples of Tara’s work:

Lydia O., marketing fellow

Lydia finished her BFA in Graphic Design from California College of the Arts in San Francisco last May. At CCA, she received two Student Achievement Awards, the first for her outstanding work on her thesis and the second for Junior Review. Her portfolio shows her unique form-making skills as well as her compositional prowess. Her work also reveals her original and fresh way of thinking about storytelling and combining text and imagery. Lydia is originally from Manila, Philippines, and has called California home for the past nine years. Just looking at Lydia’s work is inspiring, and we are so happy to have her with us for another six months.

Check out some of Lydia’s more recent work:

Jackie J., digital media fellow

Jackie, our 2010 University of Florida Honors Grad, has spent the last six months working with CSS, HTML and XPGT documents as our first digital fellow. Her knowledge of SVG containers, kf8s, epubs, and media queries is steadily growing and becoming legendary within certain circles. During the next 6 months, Jackie will be exploring metadata within epubs and experimenting with new ways of coding and epub3 standards. Don’t let the fantastic and fabulous life of coding and ebooks fool you, Jackie still keeps it real by spending time with her Golden Retriever, Miley, and pals Mickey and Minnie Mouse. We are thankful to have such a skilled and devoted fellow here for another session!

Take a look at what Jackie has done so far:

xoxo
Jackie, Lydia, Marina, and Fee

What was your most memorable project?

To work on the Boo paper doll outfits was probably the most unexpected and surprising experience. I have never designed dog outfits before but now consider that as a potential new job .

Welcome to the Boo and Buddy fashion show!

I also worked on some CAT projects, and now I know more truck names in English than I do in German. I recognize an off-highway-truck, can describe a wheeled excavator, and know what a motor grader is used for. Who knows, this knowledge might come in handy one day…

I enjoyed working on the projects that we developed in Design Lab guided by Creative Director Michael Carabetta. To come up with ideas for new formats was really fun.

Another great opportunity was to create the fellowship poster that will be screen-printed.

This is the wall next to my desk with some projects I’ve been working on recently.

What is something you learned from or hadn’t expected about the fellowship?

Working as a freelancer in Germany in my little office, I am not used to talking a lot with other people during the design process. At Chronicle Books I realized how great it is to be part of a group of gifted designers, to get feedback from others when you get stuck with your work, or need a second opinion. The exchange of ideas and opinions really works here in the design department. I guess that’s part of the reason why Chronicle is creating such a strong list of titles that are immediately recognizable.

Another thing I didn’t expect was that we fellows would get along so well. I not only experienced six months of great work and learning, but also made new friends! How good is that?

Closing thoughts

I had a really good time in this company, guided by my great mentor Amy Achaibou. It was always fun and instructive to work with her and the children’s design team.

Coming from Germany and experiencing my very first stay in San Francisco, I didn’t expect this city to be so colorful. I love the houses and all the parks and the relaxed atmosphere. Now I am heading back to Germany to go on with my own business, but I will definitely come back to this great city and stay in touch with these great people!

Felicitas H. (German)
Children’s Design Fellow

What is my favorite project?

It’s hard to pick just one project that was my favorite because they all have given me a chance to grow and put what I’ve learned into the next book. I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to experiment with new technology and testing pieces of code to see if and how they work on various devices. The world of ebooks is evolving and establishing its own standards, and I’m glad I have had the chance to grow alongside it.

Other Goose was the first ebook I was able to do from start to finish. I used it to experiment with different code or ereader capabilities, and, as you can see, the iPad was not happy with my code. But, as I told my mentor, Holden Hardcastle, the important thing to take away is that I got the image to be full bleed—which was my intention after all. (Don’t worry, we didn’t send it to market like this.)

What is something you’ve learned?

One of the things I’ve learned during these past months is the importance of putting enough time and thought into the planning stages of your project. Taking this time to plan your actions and make considerations for each idea will allow you to focus on the creative solutions as you move forward.

Storyboarding our audio books—like Chloe, Instead. (And the first time I actually used the printer!)

Forget about goodbyes.

I was lucky enough to be asked to stay on for another fellowship term, so it’s hard to think about these six months coming to an end. They are just the beginning of six more months of unforgettable people, creative exploration, tons of code, and greater things to come.

Jackie J. (American)
Digital Fellow

What is my favorite project?

I’ve worked on a few titles in the past five months and each project has its own unique personality. I always look forward to the problem-solving aspect of the design process, but nothing beats the amount of creative play I’ve experienced with the projects assigned to me. I enjoyed working on all of them which makes it difficult to pick just one, so I chose the one that resonates most with my inner nerd: Geek Battle, a nerdy board game that’s coming out Fall 2012. Not only did I get to co-design this piece with Eisner Award Nominee, Michael Morris (a.k.a. office sweetheart), I also had the chance to work on something completely out of my comfort zone. The challenge was to design game pieces for the board game. We came up with the idea of creating characters that were visual amalgamations of all things geeky. The end result was a gang of four figures—an alien brainiac, a superstar hero, an elf wizard and a mutant robot. Creating them from scratch was an exciting challenge. We ended up using bits and pieces of random stock photography to create these four frankensteined characters.

What is something you’ve learned?

Working on multiple projects at the same time was the most challenging part for me. I learned how to manage my time more efficiently, acknowledged what was realistic for a project’s time constraints, and most importantly, I learned how to communicate my needs to the design team. Sometimes it was hard to turn down new and exciting projects in order to focus on the ones already on my plate. I learned to say “no” and to bite off only what I can chew. All in all, I learned to be a more efficient and proactive part of a team. (PS: Also, I learned that I am a lightweight when it comes to drinking, which I should have known before getting into the publishing world.)

Bye Bye Bye

I’m wrapping up the design fellowship feeling armed and confident. I’ve sharpened tools in my skillset I didn’t even know I had to begin with. The three other fellows with whom I spent 6 months worth of lunches, goofy times, and dance breaks have become my great friends, and it breaks my heart that the German one and the Catalan one will be leaving us soon. Wah! Wah! I have also been so fortunate to work with such a stellar cast of Chronicle Books designers who have been generous with their time and talent. Thanks a lot you guys! Next stop… Marketing Fellowship!!! To be continued…

Lydia O.
Design Fellow (Filipina)

What is my favorite project?

My favorite project is So Pretty! Felt because I had the opportunity to experiment with typography and create a new language incorporating all of the different combinations with felt. I found myself most captivated using one material to express many different ideas. It was fun to learn how others use felt to create objects through stitching, which inspired me to explore the possibilities that one simple material has to offer.

What is something you’ve learned?

I’ve learned that sales matter. It is important to be able to create and produce a product that speaks to many individuals. It is not only about creativity and self-expression, it is about reaching out to the target audience and speaking their language.

Closing thoughts

Working at Chronicle has greatly expanded my skillset. Being able to work amongst talented design, production, marketing and sales teams has broadened my scope and helped me to think on a larger scale. I have appreciated the fact that Chronicle invests in seeking out international designers and welcomes the possibility of hiring the individuals best suited to the company.

Marina S. (Catalan)
Design Fellow

Sarah Higgins, Publishing Fellow

Sarah is an avid knitter, cook and lover of Chronicle Books. She recently completed her BFA in design from Academy of Art University. She also has a BA in psychology from UCSB. Sarah has worked with an impressive list of Bay Area design firms, including a junior design position with Michael Osborne Design, and internships with Chen Design and JLA Home. Sarah’s portfolio showcases her solid typography, form making, and conceptual skills in a great range of styles and projects. Sarah enjoys the teamwork involved in creating successful design, which will certainly be beneficial to our work process here at Chronicle. We are excited to have her with us!

Check out some of Sarah’s work:

Matchbook for a line of Levi Strauss barbecue sauce.

Typography spread in the brand guidelines for rebranding of Illy.

Poster for a typographic conference on learning disabilities.

Dinah Fried, Publishing Fellow

Dinah comes to us highly recommended from the faculty at Rhode Island School of Design, where she recently completed her MFA. She has an impressive work resume that includes a design internship at The New York Times Magazine, an associate editor position at HarperCollins in New York, acquiring and editing illustrated books, and a two-year stint at Pentagram NY as a project manager. Dinah earned her BA from Tufts University in literature and writing. She has design and printing in her blood—she grew up setting type and printing with a cast iron printing press in her family’s basement. Dinah has excellent type chops and great conceptual skills. We are thrilled to have her as part of our team!

Check out some of Dinah’s work here:

Fictitious Dishes is an ongoing series of photographs of iconic meals from novels. Shown here (clockwise from top left) Remembrance of Things Past, Heidi, To Kill a Mockingbird, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Still from of The Really Great Gatsby, a video and book that highlight marginalia and memories from fifty readers of the classic novel, The Great Gatsby.

Logo exploratory for The Emily Dickinson International Society, an organization of the world’s leading Dickinson scholars.

Kayla Ferriera, Children’s Fellow

We are delighted to welcome Kayla to the children’s fellowship. Kayla is hot off the press, she literally just graduated this past December from the Academy of Art here in SF. Kayla’s design work is as strong and as varied as her personal life—fun facts: Kayla is a stellar artist, loves to bake, and is a competitive solo Irish dancer! Kayla also impressed us with a digital app portfolio, which made some of us on the design team at Chronicle feel a little old.

Check out some of Kayla’s work here:

Promotional book for Galaxie type family. This book questions reality, exploring the ways in which our perception shapes our reality.

Two poster designs for Hop Twist Click, a fictitious Irish Dancing exhibition and competition.

Promotional book intended for the paper line Galerie Art. Ordinary objects become art as we associate them with cherished memories.

Kehau Lyons, Marketing Fellow

Kehau (pronounced “Keh-how”) has flown all the way from sunny Honolulu to join us for the next 6 months! Kehau graduated from California College of the Arts in San Francisco last year, and was a design intern at 826 Valencia last spring. She loved her internship experience and being part of the San Francisco design community. She’s really excited to be back here, and especially to be working at Chronicle Books. Her portfolio is as impressive as her enthusiasm, and we are delighted to have her join our team.

Check out some of Kehau’s work here:

Poster for a winter clothing drive inspired by knitted Christmas sweaters.

Screen-printed thank you card in three languages (English, Hawaiian, and French).

Packaging of a romantic rum family with nautical elements.

Veronica Thompson, Digital Media Fellow

Veronica is an alumna of Emerson College in Boston. She graduated in 2012 with a Masters in Electronic Publishing. She comes to Chronicle with not only expertise in e-publishing but also in social media as she worked previously as the social media marketing intern for America’s Test Kitchen. Veronica also worked to create a web presence and marketing strategies for Powers Distributing, which has since received the National Craft Beer Distributor of the year award. When she is not pulling kegs off a beer truck, she enjoys blogging and exploring her passions for travel and food. You have come to the right place Veronica and we couldn’t be happier to have you as the newest addition to our Digital Media group!

Check out some of Veronica’s work here:

Boston color-blocked.

A beer/cocktail infographic.

An illustrated Pride and Prejudice ebook.

Meghan Nowell
Design Studio Assistant

Felicitas H., children’s fellow
Felicitas “Fee” comes to us from Muenster, Germany, where she studied illustration and graphic design. Since graduating in 2009, she’s been steadily working as a freelance designer/artist for publishing houses in Germany and Korea including arsEdition, Carlsen, and Coppenrath. In fact, a German publisher just signed up one of Fee’s own original books that she authored and illustrated herself—she’s a fellow and author to boot! Fee is a great fan of paper and paper engineering. In her own words, “I enjoy the sound of crinkly paper. It is an everyday material but with a few simple methods one can transform it into all kinds of stuff.” When she was six years old, she built an entire dollhouse out of a 600-page notepaper block. We’re thrilled to have such a skilled and accomplished designer here with us for the next six months.

Check out some of Fee’s stunning work:

Jackie J., digital fellow

Jackie graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Florida in 2010. Since graduating, she has been interning and freelancing, developing her screenprinting and web design skills. During this time, Jackie has been interested in how experiences can differ between users and how she can make these experiences better. When she’s not sitting in front of the computer or at the drawing table, Jackie likes to explore new places and spend time with her dog, Miley. Jackie is excited to be our first digital fellow, and we could not be more ready to welcome her to our team.

Take a look at Jackie’s work samples:

Lydia O., publishing fellow

Lydia finished her BFA in Graphic Design from California College of the Arts in San Francisco last May. At CCA, she received two Student Achievement Awards, the first for her outstanding work on her thesis and the second for Junior Review. Her portfolio shows her unique form-making skills as well as her compositional prowess. Her work also reveals her original and fresh way of thinking about storytelling and combining text and image. Lydia is originally from the Philippines, and has called California home for the past nine years. Just looking at Lydia’s work is inspiring, and we are so happy to have her with us for the next six months.

Here are some of Lydia’s samples:

Marina S., publishing fellow

Marina comes from Barcelona, Spain, where she earned her degree in Graphic Design at Escola de Disseny i Art de Barcelona. But she is no stranger to San Francisco—she recently spent one semester at California College of the Arts through an exchange program during which time she discovered our fellowship program. Her portfolio, especially her sophisticated use of typography, is beyond impressive! Looking at her work, you’d never guess she just had her 24th birthday. Aside from design, she enjoys cooking (sometimes making letterforms out of food), traveling, and watching football… by that she doesn’t mean American football, but Spanish soccer of course. We are delighted to have Marina join us all the way from Spain.

Marina’s work samples: