Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes The Graphic Album
Role: Design direction, cover and interior design across four editions, collector’s-edition packaging, and vinyl design
Eisner Award–nominated for Best Publication Design (2023).
The project was released in four editions: platinum, deluxe, standard, and variant. I developed a distinct treatment for each while maintaining a consistent visual identity across the full collection, interior, and accompanying vinyl LP.
Available now from Z2 Comics.
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I designed a dimensional, die-cut clamshell inspired by the wooden box featured on the original Little Earthquakes album. I composited multiple wood textures, built custom title plaques from high-resolution sheet metal imagery, and added photographed rivets to make the plaques appear physically attached to the box. I also requested access to the original wooden lettering from the 1992 album and incorporated it into the new design.
The hardcover inside the clamshell uses a minimal title treatment embossed in copper, continuing the material palette without competing with David Mack’s watercolor illustration.
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I combined the original 1992 wooden lettering with David Mack’s artwork to connect the graphic album to the visual history of Little Earthquakes. I integrated the typography into the composition so it supported the artwork without overwhelming it.
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I designed a more restrained cover using open space and quiet typography to keep the focus on David Mack’s illustration.
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I designed and produced the cover layout around artwork by Colleen Doran, balancing the detail of her illustration with a clear title treatment and consistent series branding.
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I designed the lyric spreads, indicia, and introductory pages. Each lyric layout was adapted to the tone of its track while maintaining a consistent system of typography, negative space, and deep green backgrounds. Botanical illustrations by Montos appear throughout the book, connecting the interior to the wood-textured clamshell and providing continuity across artwork in different styles.
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I designed the B-sides picture disc and its die-cut jacket, adapting David Mack’s illustration to the vinyl format. I carried the book’s typography onto the record label and outer sleeve, then adjusted the composition to work within the circular crop while preserving the movement of the original artwork.
Platinum Edition Clamshell (art by David Mack)
Platinum Edition Cover (art by David Mack)
Deluxe Edition Slipcase (Art by David Mack)
Deluxe Edition Slipcase and Book Cover (Art by David Mack)
Standard Edition Cover (Art by David Mack)
Variant Edition Cover (Art by Colleen Doran)
Indicia Page (spot art by Montos)
Introduction (spot art by Montos)
Silent All These Years, Art by David Mack
Happy Phantom, Art by Andrea Bell
Vinyl Packaging