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Elements of Civilization

Services

  • Art Direction
  • Book Cover Design
  • Copywriting
  • Illustration
  • Publication Design

The Problem

At Maven, we put our full trust in the creative powers of our people. It’s what leads us. We know we can take on the most ambitious of projects and fully deliver. In fact, we seek out those types of challenges and it seems those opportunities find us. This is just such a case, when Ben Lamm of Hypergiant Industries asked us to collaborate on his vision book about his philosophical guide to the universe. We did.

Our Approach

We worked closely with Ben Lamm as our team of designers and writers got to work. Client and agency together. We started with Ben’s concept, notes and story wireframe, then fully developed and edited the copy, the format, the layout, the diagrams, the illustrations, and even handled the print production.

The Results

A 123-page book that takes a philosophical look at human history. It’s our new retelling of major events that shaped humanity. A fun, hopeful, inspiring, serious, interactive journey with the reader through the fundamental elements of civilization.

Illustrating A History Rewrite

There’s over 30 original, individual illustrations throughout the book. These visual elements depict what’s happening in the story, so this became a very close knit process between writer and designer. And though this is a new book, we didn’t want it to feel new. Instead we wanted it to be more of a discovery for the reader. Like this. “Look, I found a new history book!” To achieve that timeless feeling, we drew inspiration from retro technical illustrations in old science books - and added our Maven spin.
All Work