Nobody Knows the Spanish I Speak was a fun project because, well, it’s a fun book. I guess you could call it a humorist’s memoir--it’s the story of two “expats”--expatriots, Americans living in another country--written in a lively style and with a smile.

Check out the interior design, too. The author, Mark Saunders, is also a fellow cartoonist, and I got to use his toons and art in the book interior.

I like to start with strategy, or objectives. In this case, the cover had to visually communicate:

• fun
• travel/adventure
• Mexico

As usual, economics are a factor, and if stock photos or illustrations can do the job, it will be much less costly. Below are the pieces of stock illustration that I assembled into the cover. All in all, these cost less than $50.

 It is published by Fuze Publishing LLC, a quality Indie publisher. I hope you will visit their site and support them

By “sculpting” the blocks of copy on the back cover, I used typography to add to the playfulness and sense of fun that this book has.

The flavor of this cover was enhanced by the choice of a fun font, AdLib BT. Bold and strong, it’s easy to read, but it’s quirky, too.

Ancillary materials: I used graphic and text elements from the cover to create a promotional postcard and bookmark. Click a thumbnail image for a better look.

Postcard

Bookmark

Novel, Kathleen Toomey Jabs
Fuze Publishing