Thomas Park Clement is a man on a mission: he wants adoptees and adoptive parents to know they are not alone, but that they are chosen. As one of the many adopted children from the Unforgotten Korean War, his autobiography Dust of the Streets shares his experience of being abandoned on the streets of Seoul and later adopted in to an American family. He offers insightful and enlightening perspective of a situation most would find untenable. The book is written with great empathy for the audience. He crafts his message with thoughtfulness and intention.

My job was to design the book with the same level of consideration: make it feel effortless to read; offer multiple entry points; and remove as many barriers as possible so the readers could engage deeply with his story.

A few design notes:

Though the book is soft bound, we include flaps on both the front and back covers. The reader can save their place without a bookmark.

We also added solid olive green pages at the beginning and end of the book. These pages were inspired by tissues tucked into showcase quality hardbound books. Both the feel of the paper and the flaps elevate the reader’s experience. The book feels like a special gift.

Photos are sprinkled throughout the book rather than confined to a gallery. The photos directly support the copy and offer visual context to the story. They also help draw a reader in, providing another entry point into Thomas’s story.

Finally, we used a larger font to make reading feel effortless. Not gonna lie, I like a big font.