826CHI Compendium


Helping make Chicago students into published authors.

THE CHALLENGE

Every two years, 826CHI compiles the best of the best from their tutoring students’ writing, and publishes a collection called the Compendium. Many volunteers pour through the hundreds of stories, ranging from heartfelt and raw, to one-liner jokes. Tiny Bold was honored when approached by 826CHI to design the cover and interior layout for their Compendium, Volume 4. The theme was to make a book an atlas; you need not read in order to get a full journey in the best sense.

Stack of books

THE DESIGN

Working with illustrator Marnie Galloway, our idea of an atlas came to life with her beautiful watercolor based illustrations. The outer cover is darker, filled with the more realistic and recognizable line work of maps adults are all familiar with, punctured by the compass die cut that gives a peek into the gatefold-filled world the students live in: one of wonder, imagination, and 50-foot tall kittens that eat XBox360s.

Breaker pages, allowing for the atlas theme to pull the reader further in and help navigate different themes throughout the book (space, the past, the future…) were illustrated to include details from the stories to follow. A legend gives readers a glimpse into the 826CHI options for students, each story marked by an illustrated icon from where it came from; after-school tutoring, workshops, field trips, etc.

Inside front cover unfolded to show a bright, imagination-filled map
An entire story:
A story in the book titled

What we did

Print Design / Book Layout


“Tiny Bold brought design vision and respect for youth voice to her work with 826CHI. The Compendium V4 design and layout beautifully represented student stories, their sense of pride in the final book was palpable.”