The client
Teen Speak: Speak Their Language. Unlock Their Voice. is a guide for parents by Dr. Jennifer Salerno, founder of Possibilities for Change, a youth mental health nonprofit I’ve worked with since 2016. The book is part of Teen Speak, her parent training brand, and gives parents practical tools for communicating with their teenagers.
The challenge
The book had to do two jobs at once: teach, and be written in. It’s both an instructional guide and a workbook that parents fill out as they go, and readers who want more can continue with a Teen Speak training course. A 100-page parenting book can feel heavy, so the design needed to make it approachable, personal, and easy to work through, while staying true to Dr. Salerno’s brand.
The solution
Dr. Salerno provided the manuscript and a few books she admired for reference. I translated those references into a visual style built around her branding, a concept I developed as a scrapbook. Pages feature hand-drawn illustrations, highlighted passages, and pencil-line details, so the book feels like a well-used personal journal instead of a textbook.
I illustrated the chapter openers digitally in that same scrapbook style to give each section a warm, inviting start. Throughout the interior, which I laid out in InDesign, reflection prompts give parents space to write, and pull quotes highlight key ideas so the most important lessons stand out on a quick skim.
The result
Teen Speak is available on Amazon in print and as an ebook, with me credited as illustrator. It’s one piece of a long-running partnership with Possibilities for Change that also includes their website, the MITEY Change brand and course, and the Rising Together logo.
Have a book that needs a designer?
From interior layout to custom illustration, UpTime Web Services can help authors and organizations publish books that readers want to pick up. I work with clients in Greeley, Loveland, and Windsor. Request a quote and let’s talk.
