H A Y L E Y G A B R I E L
BIO
HAYLEY GABRIELLE
I'm a Melbourne-based creator of stories and designs with over eight years experience in creative roles including art department positions (film and television), sports media management, content creation, logo design, e-commerce development, book cover design, copywriting, and running creative writing workshops in Victorian schools.
I've had work published in a number of anthologies, won the Alan Marshall Award, claimed a place as an AMP Tomorrow Maker, and independently published five novels. This involved producing cover mock-ups, promotional material and website content whilst building an author brand.
With a Bachelor in Film and Television and a Diploma in Graphic Design, my experience offers a broad, well-informed skillset that draws on several creative fields to produce original and poignant designs.
COVER DESIGN / VECTOR ART
Adobe Illustrator
LOGO DESIGN
Adobe Illustrator
BRAND DESIGNS
Adobe Illustrator
COVER ART / ILLUSTRATION
Procreate
PROJECT: FLAMING FICTION
BRAND
Flaming Fiction aims to resonate with book lovers, avid readers and excitable fandoms, providing a senses-enhanced experience related to the worlds and characters they love.
LOGO
The Flaming Fiction logo was designed after careful examination of similar brands - bookish candles, subscription boxes, and merchandise. I examined the common elements, finding that organic lines and whimsical curves were circulating more than the clean, geometric style of mainstream candle brands.
I aimed to create a logo that would include the brand name but be easily recognisable at a glance, or as an Instagram profile image.
LABELS
Unlike the monochromatic, minimalist style of most recognisable candle brands, bookish candles at the time Flaming Fiction launched often utilised a more colourful palette with busy designs reflective of the worlds they represented. I was primarily aiming to evoke a suitable mood while the candle was closed or open - a label for the lid and side - offering an immediate feeling of connection to the relevant worlds, characters, or writers.
The images below are categorised by collection title. They were used across product listings, advertisements,
and social media platforms.
THE SPELLBOUND COLLECTION
Inspired by the Wizarding World, the designs were created to match the aesthetic of the world and its specific settings and spaces. Each label carefully compliments its theme, some more closely than others.
THE WORLD-BUILDER COLLECTION
Inspired by renowned authors past and present, this collection strove to be as specific in colour and style as the writing of the authors it represented. Quotes were incorporated into the side labels.
THE TRIBUTE COLLECTION
Inspired by The Hunger Games.
For The Arena candle, costumes worn by the tributes in the film Catching Fire provided texture and colour sources for the layering of each design element. Snow's Garden was designed to compliment the cover of Suzanne Collins' prequel - the life of her iconic antagonist, President Snow.
Mellark Bakery and District 12 were later releases, designed to blend into the environments they reflected - the rustic bakery and the rough, industrial focus of the coal District. I enjoyed experimenting with bevel effects in Adobe Photoshop to achieve the three-dimensional, stamped look of the text, seeing how the background texture/image could dictate the bevel settings for the best result.
THE LEGACY COLLECTION
Inspired by Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter novels and the family names carried through.
These designs were a change from my previous releases, with a focus on colour rather than specific imagery. I was expecting this collection to surpass others in sales, but ultimately it was not as popular.
THE WEEKEND COLLECTION
Named for the sentiment of lighting a candle in order for readers to 'spend the weekend' with a beloved character from one of their favourite novels.
LUPIN'S BREW
A hot chocolate blend for fans of the Wizarding World.
The label was designed to appear leathery in texture, with the moon and wolf symbols pillow-embossed to give the impression of a stamp or imprint. Scroll right for more images.
DUNE - LIMITED EDITION
Inspired by the science-fiction classic by Frank Herbert, released around the launch of the recent film.
THE INSTITUTE COLLECTION
Inspired by the Institutes from Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter novels. (Swipe to see the full collection).
REED DIFFUSERS
Black labels were the first release, a minimalist look for classic authors, followed by thematic designs more specific in colour and tone.
ADDITIONAL LABELS
The designs below are a mixture of customised commissions and Flaming Fiction staples.
PROJECT: THE WRITE SIDE OF THE WORLD
A PODCAST ABOUT BOOKS, WRITING, READING,
AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.
BRAND
The Write Side of the World was a podcast initiated by myself and another author from the U.S. We were hoping to create a playful, relatable space for writers and readers where we would discuss books, storytelling techniques and writing processes.
LOGO
The initial logo for our branding (above) included photographs of both Spencer and I as children, and aspiring creatives. The white borders were intended to give a 'scrapbook' effect.
The second rendition of the concept (below, left) removed colour from the photographs in an attempt to draw the eye to the central text.
Ultimately, we decided to remove the photographs, and I created a simple design with clear text (below, right). This was used for our Instagram profile and as the key image through all podcast apps.
PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL
Our primary channel for promotion was Instagram and Facebook. The images below retained the scrapbook quality of the original logo concept, and were effective for teasing upcoming episodes and discussions.
Below are the covers for Instagram reels announcing the latest Harry Potter quiz episode, which was released in two parts. I played around with the images until they felt suitably ridiculous, following with the nature of the episode.
By this point, we'd established the style of our grid, which had become a series of quote cards interspersed with episode snippets and quotes from our favourite authors.
PROJECT: THORNE (NOVELLA)
For every book I independently published, I outsourced a professional cover designer or digital illustrator.
The initial part of this process, however, involved creating mock-up designs to communicate my vision for the art.
Pictured left is the mock-up I sent to Hungarian artist Gabriella Bujdoso for the prequel novella to my young adult, fantasy series The Essence Chronicles.
Gabriella sent regular progress updates, including sketches of character poses and stages of colouring.
Pictured right is the final cover.
Once Gabriella had delivered her finished piece, I designed the text and print file, including spine and back cover.
This was my first commission by a digital illustrator, and the response from readers was extremely positive.
Character-based, digital illustrations were becoming increasingly popular, even with commercial works, and Thorne successfully tapped into the trend.
PROJECT: LUMINESSENCE
The process of designing covers for the three books in the main trilogy of The Essence Chronicles was relatively consistent.
For each book, I selected stock images appropriate to the story and its characters. Specific colours were chosen relevant to the fantastical elements in the books.
Hampton Lamoureux (TS95 Studios) - a book designer from the U.S. - would receive a mock-up from me (pictured left), and would then deliver a series of progress files. There were many emails backwards and forwards, tweaking layers and text.
Below is the final cover for Luminessence, featured in paperback format and followed by the complete series.
The Essence Chronicles is available for purchase through Amazon, Book Depository, Booktopia, Angus & Robertson, Dymocks and more.
After collaborating with a number of digital illustrators in relation to cover art, I continued to enlist their skills (particularly those of Norwegian artist Wictoria Nordgård) in creating art for promos, merchandise, limited editions and giveaways. I've included these below, alongside a few examples of how they were useful for marketing.