lettering & illustration
Melville House
The Philosophy of Beard
Lettering refinement for a book cover
Art Director Marina Drukman
Marina Drukman invited me to help refine the lettering for this cover. My role was not simply to redraw the title, but to identify what was weakening the composition and propose a stronger typographic solution.
I began by reviewing the original lettering and pointing out the main issues: inconsistent stroke quality, uneven negative space, weak spacing, and a few letterforms that reduced clarity. Because the title functions as both typography and image here, those details were especially important — the lettering had to feel expressive, but also structurally convincing.
I then reworked the letterforms and spacing to create a more cohesive, legible, and visually taut composition, while keeping the unusual character of the concept intact. The final cover preserved the wit of the original idea and gave it a stronger formal foundation.
The project went on to receive First Place in General Trade Hardcover Nonfiction Cover at the 2019 New York Book Show.