N° 08 — Interior design
A studio service
Picture book interior design.
Interior layout, typesetting, and page-turn pacing for picture books. For authors who already have illustration and need the inside of the book laid out the way published books are.
The page-turn is the punchline.

N° 01What interior design covers
Every decision inside the book.
Interior design is the craft of turning a finished illustrated manuscript into a printable book. It's the step between 'I have all my spreads' and 'I can upload this to KDP.' Done well it's invisible; done badly, even beautifully illustrated books feel amateur.
Most self-publishing authors underestimate how much interior design matters. The same illustrations, laid out professionally, look like a real book; laid out in Canva or Word, they read as self-published from across the room.
01
Page-turn pacing
We sequence your spreads so page-turns land on story beats — questions, reveals, emotional shifts. This is the single biggest invisible contributor to a good picture book.
02
Text placement
Where the text sits on each spread. The difference between a spread that breathes and one that feels cramped is usually 8–12 points of type position.
03
Typography selection
Font pairing for title, body, and any special text (dialogue, sound effects, captions). We pick from a curated list of picture-book-appropriate typefaces.
04
Front and back matter
Title page, half-title page, copyright page, dedication, author bio, back-cover blurb. Designed to feel like a real published book.
05
Margins and bleed
Correct 0.125" bleed on every edge, safety margins for text, spine-gutter compensation. Print-ready on first upload.
06
Spread vs. single-page decisions
Every scene evaluated — does it belong on a full-bleed spread, a single page, or a vignette? Not all illustrations want full bleed.
N° 02Process
How we lay out a book.
You send us your finished illustrations (high-resolution PNG or TIFF, 300 DPI at final print size) and your manuscript text. We start with a thumbnail storyboard — tiny versions of every spread arranged in order — so we can see the pacing of the whole book before committing to layout.
Then we go spread by spread. Text placement, typography, any necessary minor image adjustments. You review the full book in a single PDF proof. Two rounds of revision are included.
Final delivery is three files: a print-ready PDF for paperback, a print-ready PDF for hardcover (slightly different spine margins), and a fixed-layout ebook file for Kindle.
N° 03Trim sizes
Supported trim sizes.
01
8.5 × 8.5 in (square)
The classic picture book. Fits most bookshelves. KDP-supported. Our default recommendation.
02
8.5 × 11 in (portrait)
Letter-sized. More vertical space for tall compositions. Feels more educational.
03
11 × 8.5 in (landscape)
Wide format for sweeping horizontal scenes. Premium picture book feel.
04
10 × 10 in (large square)
Gift-book size. More expensive to print, but feels like a keepsake.
05
7 × 10 in (chapter book)
For illustrated chapter books with mostly text plus plates.
N° 04Investment
Three ways to work together.
Interior only
From $1,200
Layout and typesetting for a standard 32-page picture book with supplied illustrations.
- Full interior layout
- Text placement for every spread
- Typography selection
- Front + back matter
- Print-ready PDF for KDP paperback
- 2 rounds of revisions
Signature
From $1,800
Full production: interior + print and ebook files.
- Full interior layout
- Paperback print PDF + hardcover print PDF
- KDP fixed-layout ebook file
- Front + back matter design
- 2 rounds of revisions
- Marketing spread exports
- One-page style guide
Complete
From $3,200
Everything plus cover layout and additional language editions.
- Full interior layout
- Cover design or layout
- All file formats (print, ebook, web)
- Support for 1 additional language edition
- Unlimited minor revisions
- Full marketing asset pack
N° 05Questions
The answers we give most often.
- What do I need to supply?
- High-resolution final illustrations (PNG or TIFF at 300 DPI at final print size, with 3mm bleed where needed) and your finished manuscript text with page-break markers. If your illustrations aren't at final size yet, we can help with the resizing.
- Can you do layout if I haven't picked a trim size?
- Yes — we'll recommend one based on your illustrations, your print budget, and how you plan to distribute. This is part of the initial conversation.
- How long does interior design take?
- For a standard 32-page picture book, 2–3 weeks from receipt of files. Complex books with a lot of text-on-image or multiple language editions take longer.
- Do you do interior design for books you didn't illustrate?
- Yes — most interior design clients come to us with existing illustration, either from their own work or another illustrator. We work from whatever files you have.
Start your book
Send us your illustrated manuscript.
If your illustrations are done and you need the inside of the book laid out professionally, share what you have. We'll reply with a proposal within two working days.

