The Swim is a fully illustrated short book interpreting a short story by writer Christian Frommelt through an editorial illustration lens. The project explores dream states, corporate alienation, intoxication, rupture, and transformation using surreal imagery and deliberate pacing rather than literal narrative depiction. I led the illustration, layout, and visual system, treating each spread as a standalone editorial moment within a cohesive book design.
After multiple readings of the story, I focused on extracting moments that lent themselves to visual interpretation. The imagery leans surreal, stretching reality to mirror the protagonist’s inner world. When the text becomes particularly rich or descriptive, I step back visually, using negative space and intentional layout to let the writing breathe. Color functions as a structural element, marking shifts and disrupting the page.
I led the full production process for the book, from concept through final layout. I created eight original illustrations in Procreate, developing them in parallel with the text to test pacing, scale, and narrative emphasis. The book was fully composed in Adobe InDesign, where illustration placement, typographic hierarchy, and white space were iteratively refined to shape rhythm and guide the reader’s experience.
This project was deeply meaningful to me. The short story is immersive, moving, and humorous, and collaborating closely with a writer was a long-held goal. Through this book, I was able to combine illustration, design, and narrative into a single object—an approach I’m eager to continue pursuing within publishing and editorial illustration.
The finished booklets were sold at my booth at the Cherokee Street Print Bazaar in St. Louis, where they sold quickly, and the project was later selected for placement at a local zine shop in Webster Groves. Seeing the work connect with readers in a physical, public context reinforced my desire to continue creating illustration-driven editorial projects.
