Building an elite manual.
Co-authors Jonathan and Craig knew their manuscript was like no other reference for those seeking to become special operators. It combined systems theory, psychology, and methods for practical application with personal stories from the authors and others. The resulting book design matches its content's promise: practical, intelligent, and unique in its field.
Passing the Special Ops exam requires thought, planning, a growth mindset, and mental and physical stamina. The book's design reinforces the high intelligence needed to join the Special Ops through an elevated design aesthetic: beautiful typography, clearly defined hierarchy, subtle and meaningful design elements, and ample use of white space.
Elevated design.
Type lockup on a chapter start page.
Type detail of Paragraph style (Mrs. Eaves) with italicized/bold character style (Trade Gothic), Heading 2 style (Trade Gothic condensed all caps with yellow rule), and Heading 3 style (Trade Gothic condensed).
Detail of table styling.
Sample spread with a story page on the left, and regular content page on the right with Heading 1 style (Trade Gothic condensed all caps with yellow bar and horizontal yellow rule).
2-page story spread example.
Detail of a Definitions page.
Type lockup on a chapter start page.
Type detail of Paragraph style (Mrs. Eaves) with italicized/bold character style (Trade Gothic), Heading 2 style (Trade Gothic condensed all caps with yellow rule), and Heading 3 style (Trade Gothic condensed).
Detail of table styling.
Sample spread with a story page on the left, and regular content page on the right with Heading 1 style (Trade Gothic condensed all caps with yellow bar and horizontal yellow rule).
2-page story spread example.
Detail of a Definitions page.
The authors imagined readers might not read from start to finish, but rather jump from section to section. User-friendly tabs were crucial to their vision of the reference guide. I designed tabs that are easy to see from the sides of the book while aesthetically clean and non-intrusive to the page spreads. To make the chapter starts even more visible, each chapter begins with a full-page photo with a dark green vertical bar.
Jump around.
