Yoga from a new perspective

I've been spending most of my time lately laying out a series of four yoga books. Despite the minor and major annoyances associated with dealing with huge, huge image files while simultaneously adjusting to the new InDesign CS5, it's been great fun.

I just love the medical-style illustrations. They remind me of the Ciba Collection series of anatomy books my mother had that I loved so much as a kid. See one of them here. (Hmm, I wonder if my mom still has them...?)

Tell me this—if seeing someone else yawn makes you yawn, and seeing someone else having sex makes you frisky, does seeing someone else do yoga make you want to stretch?

Science book upgrade

Our client is the epitome of the smart, enthusiastic, and zany science teacher most of us wished we'd had in middle school. (See a video of the author teaching a coiffed TV anchorman how to balance nails here.)

The author knew that his published book did not reflect his approach to teaching science at all—it completely lacked energy. So he came to us with a vision of a user-friendly, clean, and photo-driven redesign (think good looking cookbook) meant to appeal to moms who want to do these kitchen-table experiments with their kids.

A new trim size, a 4-color interior, and a focus on photography made the exact same material work in a whole new way.

Here are a couple of pages each from his original and my redesign.