I was commissioned to design a non-fiction book for historian John B McMillan OBE. His book relates the factual and fictional history of his hometown, from the stories behind street names and shipwrecks to the impact of World War 2.

My concept for the cover was to divide it into quarters, using a vintage map in the shape of the Saltire for a strong sense of place, alongside images of the elements that underpin life in Irvine: the sea and the coal, cotton, and timber industries.

The book was divided into five parts, each assigned a different colour from a natural palette of blues, browns, greens and greys. I redrew several maps and charts, and used a 12-column grid to give enough flexibility to balance the text with the dramatic accompanying imagery.