The objective was to modernise the traditional school reader by creating a levelled reading series that aligned with the humorous and playful ethos of the Mrs Wordsmith brand. The brief required a design for both home and school use that introduced letter-sound correspondences and tricky words through character led stories. A core requirement was to display established character personalities to a younger audience through a printed medium for the first time, balancing vivid visuals with the strict clarity needed for early years literacy.

I designed the format and structure for the entire series, creating a system that panned across four developmental stages. For the Early Beginner set, I collaborated with artists and curriculum experts to brainstorm storylines and select imagery that maximised engagement. I personally led the design for the first set, supporting the creative direction, arranging text, and dropping content to ensure every page felt immersive rather than instructional.

This project successfully expanded the brand into the fiction market, creating a blueprint that ensured consistency across the entire forty eight book series. By establishing this scalable framework and a new visual standard for character storytelling in print, I provided the company with a successful model for long term growth and future series development.