The Client
Richard Kadrey is the New York Times-bestselling author of more than fifteen novels, including the Sandman Slim supernatural noir series. Sandman Slim was included in Amazon’s 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime. Chad Stahelski of John Wick fame is directing the book as a feature film. Some of Kadrey’s other books include The Grand Dark, Hollywood Dead, The Everything Box, and Butcher Bird. In comics, he’s written for Heavy Metal, Lucifer, and Hellblazer.
The Challenge
Richard needed a website rebrand to attract a wider audience than the lovers of the niche “dark urban fantasy” for which he’s best known. He also wanted a more robust merchandise page for themed products—I’d previously designed a number of logos for products and businesses appearing in his novels (see “Aqua Regia” logo, below).
The Solution
I created a Squarespace website with a contrast of spare, dark gray type surrounded by white space and the vibrant colors of Richard’s book covers. I also included an extensive merchandise page: 15 items each for eight branded product lines. This listing linked to a store I created on the Redbubble print-on-demand website. I designed a number of logos for products and businesses appearing in Richard’s novels.
The Impact
Incorporating expansive elements to attract a new audience, the website redesign achieved a 26% increase in online engagement that, in only four months, contributed to an 80% increase in merchandise revenue.
Additional branding
“Aqua Regia” is the name of an extremely potent tipple drunk by “Hellions”—Hell’s denizens—and a few hardy mortals, including James Stark, Sandman Slim himself. The libation is 190 proof—95% ethanol—and contains 6.66% Angels’ blood. From copy I wrote on the website:
“What’s that you say? The numbers don’t add up? That’s Hellion math. Stick these labels to your favorite containers to instantly transform the contents into Hell’s beverage of choice. Mugs perform the same magical change, and t-shirts proclaim your love.”
I used a palette of blood-red, black and white for the labels. The final version featured a black and white engraving of St. George’s dragon, reenvisioned as a demonic Hellion, against a red background.
Alternate versions
