Brief

The author of A Secret Service: The True Story of Washington’s Culper Spy Ring came to us for a complete visual and digital presence ahead of publication. We would need to design a temporary book cover that would not only represent the work in its pre-release phase, but also help guide the overall look and feel of the website.

The website itself would need to be built to feature the book front and centre, with an email signup for updates, plus dedicated sections for press coverage, published articles, and appearances on stage, podcasts, and radio. We also would be tasked with integrating a calendar of upcoming events. Every element would be designed to resonate with two key audiences: potential publishers and readers passionate about Revolutionary War history.

Challenge

Our first challenge was to create a temporary book cover while the book is still in its pre-publication stage. We knew that collaborating on a look and feel for the cover would also help shape the overall design direction for the website.

Another key task was finding a font that evoked the colonial era while offering enough styles and weights to work across both print and digital formats, which was a surprisingly tricky balance to strike. This challenge applied to both the book and the website, where the design needed to honor a Revolutionary War aesthetic yet remain clear, modern, and easy to navigate.

On the technical side, we also developed custom post types for the Publications & Press page, and created an interactive background featuring the signatures of figures from both the Patriot Culper Spy Ring and the opposing British Loyalist side.