A visual-Story library is a batch of images developed to work cohesively together for editorial, marketing, branding and documentary purposes. These collections can include any mixture of illustration, photography and design.
feel free to explore the projects below and conNECt With me if you have any questions or would like to discuss working together.
BOOK ILLUSTRATION | JESSICA MCCREADY - IMAGE & CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
A mama helping her daughter through the trials of food allergies, this picture book is a nod to the authors lived experience with her own kids. Tackling the character development and illustration, the author wanted light and bright to shine through. This book will be released in early 2024.
BOOK COVER ART & DESIGN | MARCELLA DODGE WEBSTER - BOOK COVER DEVELOPMENT
This cover design project required artwork and layout for a spiritual, autobiographical, self-help book with a companion guidebook. After some initial discussions and mock-ups, it was decided that the artwork would lean towards the ethereal, so a custom digital watercolor was created. The pair were released in early 2023.
NOTEBOOK & JOURNAL ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN | LOU DAHL STUDIO - STATIONARY DEVELOPMENT
Bright and colorful, these notebooks and journals are designed to be portable and easy to use. They employ some of my more playful illustrations to bring fun and function together. Specs: 6x9 | 120 Pages | Lined. They can be purchased 2 different ways:
1) Via this linktree (which will connect you to a specific product on Amazon)
2) Directly from Amazon, by searching for my name ‘lou dahl’.
BOOK ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN | RAMONA WILDEMAN - BOOK DEVELOPMENT
Originally called Loveliness of Ladybugs, and later changed to Siege of Herons, this is an ABC book in disguise. The author of this art-centric page-turner wanted both adults and children to enjoy learning about collective nouns. 26 illustrations find their way onto the page, carefully chosen and crafted to display a plethora of common and unique ways to describe plural groupings (e.g.: R = Rabble of butterflies). The author chose my editorial style of illustration and the book launched in the spring of 2022.
BOOK ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN | ASHLEY BERRY - BOOK DEVELOPMENT
This book walks children through the idea of adoption by following the lives of two families: the Bumble (bee) family who learn about the process via the Berry family who are awaiting the arrival of their children. This book uses my picture book illustration style, along with brilliant color, shadow & highlights. As with all my books, this one started with character development, then a dummy creation and lastly the final illustrations with the books design layout. This book has two accompanying works by the author: a prior award-winning autobiography (Waiting for Rainbows) and now a Hollywood movie. This book will be available for hardcover purchase in early 2023, but is currently available as a softcover purchase via Amazon.
PHOTOGRAPHY | PRIVATE COMPANY - PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY & BRAND STORY DEVELOPMENT
This content was developed for a private cosmetics manufacturer as part of a larger branding story. It saw the update of the companies logo, branding guidelines (including color palette, typography and UX design), and was to help define and educate prospective customers about their history and processes.
UX DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION | WilL - APP PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
A full A-Z UX design process was developed for this app proposal which would see users tackle stress in their day-to-day lives, using a 4-pronged approach to positive thinking and management. The standard UX research, design, and mock-up stages were developed and successfully progressed through to the lo-fi development and into the final hi-fi demo creation. All components were imagined, designed and created by lou dahl - you can see and read the full UX write-up here.
UX DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION | FOOD HERO - APP PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
An official foray into UX design, this was an app prototype that looked at ways to encourage less food waste within households. Following a standard UX design sprint, rough mock-ups and illustrations were created, tested and refined from wireframes to lo-fi, and finally a hi-fi interface.
BOOK COVER DESIGN | MYRNA BOULDING - BOOK COVER WRAP
Myrna Boulding and her husband Jim started the Strathcona Park Lodge, an outdoor education centre on Vancouver Island, BC. For the 50th reunion, she wrote about the harrowing days of getting the establishment up and running. She updated the book for the 60th reunion and requested a fresh cover.
PHOTOGRAPHY | MADAGASCAR - EDITORIAL / TRAVEL / DOCUMENTARY
An island that is uniquely it’s own. Not African, Polynesian or Asian, but instead a magical balance of influences that have created a culture and people true only to themselves. This story highlights some of the unique areas and people of this vast island, which is still widely off the worlds’ tourist trail. Enjoy.
ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN | STRATHCONA PARK LODGE - PRINT MARKETING
Strathcona Park Lodge has been a mainstay of many adventurers, school groups and events that wish to enjoy the BC Provincial Park of a similar name on Vancouver Island, BC. The ‘Lodge’ was looking for fresh development of marketing materials, and so Information & Business Cards + Postcards were developed.
PIZZA ILLUSTRATION | LOU DAHL STUDIO - ILLUSTRATION SEQUENCE DEVELOPMENT
This progressive video is to show the nature of building the painted/illustrated layers of a pizza image which was used (in part) for an article in the January/February 2023 edition of Edible Vancouver Magazine.
PHOTOGRAPHY | ICELAND - EDITORIAL / TRAVEL / DOCUMENTARY
A land of earth, fire and ice, this country is surely a place that builds character while requiring awe. Enjoy this exploration through an all-encompassing ‘landscape’ destination.
EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION & TEXT COPY | EDIBLE MAGAZINE - VISUAL ARTICLE
These visual articles have been developed for Edible Magazine’s ‘Last Bite’ page. Their goal is to inspire and showcase ideas that match the theme of each edition’s season. For example: BC’s berry picking timeline, DIY food tours, inspiration for a pumpkin’s life extension, and a holiday high-tea. All copy and illustrations are by lou & you can read a little more about the berries article here.
DESIGN | RESTLESS JOSIE COOKS - LOGO DEVELOPMENT
This design was created to support the food bloggers upcoming cookbook, website and additional marketing needs.
PHOTOGRAPHY | UBC ENGINEERING PHYSICS - EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY
This is the documentation of an extraordinary night showcasing the year-end talents of this collective of builders and makers. The first in-person event to be hosted by the UBC Engineering Physics lab since COVID began, both students and alumni gathered to review the creations of the 2022 grads.
BOOK ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN | UROS BUDIMAC - BOOK DEVELOPMENT
This project’s focus was to breakdown 20 common technical scenarios that are problematic when playing doubles tennis, and identify how to resolve them. The goal was to create an illustrated book that was fun and colorful but still highly effective. A modern layout was used for the interior text pages and allows the information to be simplified and accessed in useful chunks. This book is unlike anything else available in this area of the market, and was released in the spring of 2022.
BOOK ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN | LEAH TODD - BOOK DEVELOPMENT
The goal of this book project was to bring the authors childhood imagination to life through the tale of two platypus brothers who make their way to New York from Australia. It was done with my picture book illustration style and was released mid December 2021.
GRAPHIC DESIGN | LOU DAHL - SELF-PROMOTION MARKETING MATERIAL
I work in many mediums and styles, some of which mesh well together and others which do not. I wanted to revamp my marketing materials to do two things: a) create a streamlined template that I can use as a branded style for future marketing and b) help educate my clients on the type of work I do in a way that allows me to mix-and-match the content according to the client’s needs. You can see a further breakdown on my blog HERE.
ILLUSTRATION, PHOTOGRAPHY & DESIGN | THE HELLO COOKIE COMPANY - BRANDING DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
This project’s goal was to develop a cohesive look for The Hello Cookie Company’s three cookie flavors. The desire was for a bright and playful look to showcase the Chocolate Orange, Lemon Lavender and Strawberry Mint flavored treats. This project included many facets of the creation from the logo & packaging design /layout, Food photography and 3D package mock-ups.
PHOTOGRAPHY | BROOKS PENINSULA - AS SEEN IN PADDLING MAGAZINE FALL 2020
A region rich in adventure, oceanic life, secret hideaways and plenty of salty water, ‘Floating’ is a look at the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. The journey starts in Fair Harbour, BC and spans up to the Books Peninsula, a place of wild beasts and big weather.
CONCEPTUAL ILLUSTRATION | GRANT HARDER PHOTOGRAPHY - CUSTOM ART DESIGN & INSTALLATION
Grant Harder Photography wanted a number of large conceptual illustrations / art pieces created for a studio shoot with models. Keeping in mind the photographers style and preferences, small maquettes/models were built, selected, and then enlarged & rigged for the shoot. Some of the maquettes that were not selected for enlargement have also been included in this story
PHOTOGRAPHY | FRANC’ING - EDITORIAL / TRAVEL / DOCUMENTARY
The people, the cheese, the countryside, the lines that wait. ‘France’ing’ explores parts of the mid to northern areas of France. Magnificent buildings, art, cycling and tourists, this country has something for everyone.
PHOTOGRAPHY | PASSING THROUGH - DOCUMENTARY
In the end, we are all just ‘Passing Through’. We leave behind tangible and intangible things. This story explores the idea of love, friendship and finally, the waiting involved in a life well lived and shared.
PLATYPUS BROTHERS - LOGO DESIGN | This logo was developed to accompany the book ‘The Platypus Brothers in New York’ and further marketing materials.
FREIMARK FAMILY - LOGO / ILLUSTRATION DESIGN | This logo was developed for a family reunion get-together held in a Canadian prairie town. It was printed on a number of mugs and bags as takeaway items for family members.
CPE - LOGO | This logo was developed for a local west coast engineering group that was concerned about the pipelines and tanker ships being proposed for the Vancouver Lower Mainland area.
OUT IN THE WILD - LOGO / ILLUSTRATION | This logo was developed as a potential sticker and postcard design for a for a local west coast company that promotes exploring the outdoors.