Illustrada Design Portfolio

A sampling of Paul Nylander’s book designs

Bold, daring book covers are crafted to capture attention.

Meticulously designed interior layouts focus on readability and an immersive experience.

Each unique design combines a personal touch with universal appeal, resonating at first sight and leaving a lasting impression.

Illustrada is crafting books that open our eyes, expand our minds, and enrich our souls.

A firely sun is the background to the three young adults, a white girl, a black girl, and a white boy
Science-futurist or science fiction? Gardeners of the Universe considers what will become of the human race.
Kura book open to show detail of the sculpture's engraved granite front piece, with the book lying on top of the hardcover with gold foil of the Japanese Kura symbol, and underneath the softcover featuring the same stone.
Kura: Prophetic Messenger is a stunning essay + photo essay of the development and installation of the sculpture from which the book gets its title. Featuring the work of master potter Richard Bresnahan and the St. John's Pottery.
Voices Rising showing front and back covers, and an interior spread
Creating an anthology of native women writers took careful balance of style and art—with illustrator Tashia Hart's help.
Beauty in Plain Sight, Covers and interior
Beauty in Plain Sight, a two-volume photobook challenged me: how far can we go to make the printing perfect?
Looking at the interior of Evergreen Authors
An interior redesign of Evergreen Authors makes this both a beautiful and highly useful book guiding authors to market their own books.
A textbook for early education teachers, Transformational Coaching for Early Childhood Educators uses complex styles for reading simplicity.
Cover and interior spread of the book.
Exploring the power of quiet in this poetry compilation, Child of Dawn, Mother of Twilight.
Paul Nylander's fine press book Isolation, with slipcase
Why letterpress print Isolation with hand printed photogravure images? Because it feels good.
Book cover featuring intimate look at St. Anthony waterfall atop an interior view showing the mill fires in vibrant reds and yellows
In this children's book, My Mighty Journey, the only major waterfall on the Mississippi river watches over changes from woolly mammoths to the rise of the Mill City, Minneapolis.
Cover and interior spread of the book.
The Story of Everyday German Peasant Life contemplates one family's experience over two-thousand years worth of history.
The front and back cover of the book.
A request for an eBook conversion for Under a Cloven Sky becomes a fantasy cover project and an ongoing partnership.
Enchanted Cover and Interior
Over 20 years in the making, Enchanted chronicles the author's life and her dedication to live simply and close to the earth.

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