Stephen V · Visual designer • Art director

Go ahead, judge it by its cover.

Covers that sell books. Design that wins the shelf. A little magic comes standard.

Let’s make some magic together Start a project →

Welcome to the Bureau

In the old stories there’s a rabbit on the moon, up all night pounding away at an elixir. Same job description here: find the thing that makes your idea glow, then work it until it does.

No spandex required (okay, maybe a hint).

Department Nº 1

Covers

For publishers and authors.

Covers that stop a thumb mid-scroll and a browser mid-aisle.

See the covers
The full moon, cut in black and white: dark seas, bright highlands, rayed craters.
1 2 Portraits

Department Nº 2

Commercial

For agencies and brands.

Campaigns, packaging and art direction made to kick serious ass, not just look drop-dead gorgeous.

See commercial work

I bring ideas to life on book covers, campaigns and packaging for brands.

Selected work

01 – 04

Also on the shelf

Covers you can pick up.

See the covers
  • Book cover: Man in the Blue Moon by Michael Morris, a house under trees at dusk.
  • Book cover: Courage Can Save Us by Rye Barcott. The word US is cut from a weathered American flag; a lone figure in uniform stands beneath it.
  • Book cover: God & Churchill by Jonathan Sandys and Wallace Henley, Churchill in shadow under spaced white capitals.
  • Book cover: The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven by Kevin & Alex Malarkey. A small silhouette of a boy in a wheelchair against soft golden light shaped like wings, the title in brown serif below, New York Times Bestseller across the top.
  • Book cover: Game On by Emmitt Smith. His face fills the frame in dramatic low light; the title in metallic capitals at the foot.
  • Book cover: Coherent Creation by Kathryn Brewer, the title in large painted letters.

The easy button

Hand it off.
Forget about it.

I’ve been the in-house art director with the full desk, and the hired hand in agency rooms that move fast. So I know what you want from a freelancer: less to manage.

  1. 01

    Deadlines are deadlines.

    I don’t miss them. If something upstream slips, you hear it from me first, with a plan.

  2. 02

    No ego.

    I love feedback and direction. Notes make the work better; they don’t hurt my feelings.

  3. 03

    I know the room.

    Authors, editors, sales, legal, the client’s client. I understand the tension you hold between all of them, and I won’t add to it.

  4. 04

    Files you can open.

    Layered, labelled and organized. The next person to touch them will thank you.

  5. 05

    Kind, on purpose.

    It’s rarer in this business than it should be.

For agency teams

Need an experienced pair of hands? Borrow mine.

I slot into agency teams as an art director: your brief, your process, your name on the deck. The client relationship stays where it belongs. Lately that has meant work for Fortune 50 CPG and spirits brands.

Bring me in
A hare sits on the inner curve of a huge crescent moon, one leg dangling, looking out at the stars.

Intermission

Still scrolling? We should talk.

Start a project

You’re in good company

Brands I’ve worked on

  • Fortune 50 CPG brands
  • Sazerac
  • Wheatley Vodka
  • Deloitte
  • Osprey

Authors I’ve designed for and photographed

  • Drew Brees
  • Tony Dungy
  • Emmitt Smith
  • Scott Stapp
  • Randall Wallace
  • Rich Froning
  • Lauren Scruggs Kennedy

Where the work has been featured

  • The New York Times Best Seller list
  • NBC News
  • TODAY
  • The Dr. Oz Show
  • People
  • Oprah
  • New York Post
“Stephen, is a talented creative force. Normally passing out at work first thing might be considered bad. But when it’s passing out from joy, then it’s a really good thing. I’m loving the work you’ve done! Thank you, thank you!! I’m extremely appreciative.”
Hilary Wheeler · Brand Strategy Leader, Little Man Inc.

Ready for a
hell yeah?

Tell me what’s keeping you up at night. The rabbits are up anyway.

Start a project