SYSTEM OUTPUT
Project // ACTIVE
WORK / Culture & Impact
La Vida de Sami
Turning a real story into an experience young readers could enter.
Editorial design for a solidarity children's book based on the real experiences of a Ugandan girl and her family. A project created to help younger readers discover another reality through storytelling, illustration and empathy.
CLIENT
Babies Uganda NGO / María Galán
ROLE
Editorial Designer, Art Direction & Illustration Coordination
YEAR
2021 - 2022
duration
6 months
scope
Editorial Design · Art Direction Layout · Illustration Coordination Print Production
Status
Published · Two editions
Context
A manuscript with a real life behind it.
María Galán, from Babies Uganda, had written a children's story based on the real life of Sami and her family in Uganda.
The manuscript contained stories, daily routines, difficult situations, cultural references and lessons that needed to become accessible to young readers.
My role was to transform that material into a clear, visual and sensitive editorial experience without simplifying the reality behind the story.
Editorial direction
Make it accessible without making it superficial.
The book needed to remain approachable for younger readers while dealing with experiences very different from their own.
I built an editorial system around shorter reading rhythms, clear hierarchy, illustrations, chapter openings, decorative references and integrated moral reflections.
The objective was to make the story easier to understand without turning a real life into decoration.
07 CHAPTERS
100 INTERIOR
PAGES
SQUARE FORMAT
≈ 21 × 21 CM
CHAPTER
OPENINGS
MORAL
REFLECTIONS
AFRICAN-INSPIRED
ORNAMENTS
ILLUSTRATION-LED
NARRATIVE
Illustrating Real Experience
Illustrate what helps the story be understood.
Not every page needed an illustration.
I selected the scenes that could best explain actions, environments and everyday life, as well as moments where an image could reinforce the emotional experience of reading.
Real photographs and references from Uganda were used throughout the process to avoid generic or stereotypical representations of the places and situations described.
100+ ILLUSTRATIONS
CREATED
96 ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THE FINAL BOOK
Illustrators
Marina Molero García
Elena Lahoz Miranda
WITH COLLABORATION FROM
Carmen Miranda Sancho
Beatriz Auría Martín
María Dionis Vilardaga
FROM MANUSCRIPT TO BOOK
Text, image and rhythm had to come one system.
The book was laid out chapter by chapter while illustrations were being produced.
Text length, white space, illustration scale, page turns, chapter openings, ornaments and moral reflections were continuously adjusted to keep the reading experience clear and visually engaging.
Once the system was complete, I prepared the final artwork for print and coordinated the production of the first edition.
MANUSCRIPT → SCENE SELECTION → GRID → ILLUSTRATION → LAYOUT → PRINT FILE → PHYSICAL BOOK
imapact & Results
Design that became a real tool for impact.
The final result was a solidarity children's book capable of turning real experiences into an accessible and visually engaging narrative.
The first edition sold 570 copies during its first year and generated funds for Babies Uganda's projects.
Its continuity eventually led to a second edition, extending the life of the story beyond the original publication.
570 BOOKS
SOLD FIRST
EDITION
/ FIRST YEAR
€10.2K RAISED
100 INTERIOR
PAGES
96
ILLUSTRATIONS
USED
02 EDITIONS
THE IDEA I WOULD CLOSE WITH
Empathy without turning reality into spectacle.
One of the most important decisions was keeping the visual language warm and approachable without dramatizing the lives represented in the book.
The goal was not to make young readers feel guilty.
It was to help them understand another childhood, recognize differences and similarities, and develop empathy through the act of reading.
DO YOU HAVE A STORY THAT DESERVES MORE THAN JUST BEING READ?
Let's turn it into an editorial experience people can understand, remember and connect with.
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STATUS: WORK ARCHIVE READY
