Exploring Graphic Design Through Writing

Graphic Design is an interest that intertwines well with my other passions; photography, writing, videogames, and more. After all, it makes up most of my day-to-day life, though it’s not always obvious and direct. I’ve been writing creatively for about five years now and I’ve come to associate all different types of art with such a passion; whether I’m creating music playlists to help develop stories and characters, or scouring Pinterest for inspiration, writing can include more than just, well, writing.

Examples of Playlist Covers, Customized to Represent Fictional Characters
Developed & Designed by M.J. Valentine

How Does Book Jacket & Interactive Design Tie Into Writing, Exactly?

Throughout the past few years, I’ve always loved to design book and playlist covers for my multitudes of projects. Book covers are such an integral part of development and writing. A good cover, although not always indicative of a book’s contents, is the first step to getting your work out into the world. It draws a person in through text, color, image, and emotion.

One of the things that fascinate me the most about Book Jacket Design is the evolution of design over the past few hundred years. Currently, most hardback books have simple bindings with the actual design on the dust cover. I understand the purpose of a dust cover, of course, but I can’t help but be a bit sad over the decrease in intricate engravings and lettering from old books you can find in thrift stores. New editions with such designs aren’t found as commonly, and when they are found, they tend to be much more expensive.

I don’t only write stories; I write lore as well, possibly more than anything else, and my love of organizing only fuels the passion and interest in Interactive Design. I publish my work on a site called World Anvil, where I am able to create a wiki for my own fantasy world. World Anvil allows its users to customize their pages however they want, and thanks to my past experience with HTML, I’ve had plenty of practice with web and interactive design. World Anvil is the perfect place for me to organize my thoughts in a nicely displayed and easy-to-read manner, for both myself and those I want to share my work with. Being able to fully customize and design the wiki pages is an integral part of making connections with an audience as the layout, color choice, typeface, and general appearance is what typically catches the consumer’s eye first and foremost.

Find my personal website over at Tumblr and my writing over at World Anvil;

 

OR, search for one of my handles on social media; Sterrestel or M.J. Valentine

 

I’ve never actually taken a graphic design course and I am purely self-taught, so my hope is that by learning in a class setting, I’ll be able to continue to improve and make more intentional design choices. Constructive criticism and feedback are always welcomed, especially when it comes to accessibility in my work.

Graphic Design as a Hobby vs. a Career

I plan on majoring in psychology with a minor in creative writing. Although I love to write and create, I would much rather enjoy my interests as they are, hobbies, rather than turning them into a full-fledged career. I want to be able to enjoy writing and art without feeling the pressures of making it big, or having to force myself to continue in order to make enough money to pay the bills. Consistency simply isn’t my strong suit when it comes to inspiration; I’d much rather work to support myself and be able to come home and wind down, rather than burning myself out creatively.