I was invited by John Salmon to contribute images for the ninth edition of Kanski’s Clinical Ophthalmology. Imaging is key to this publication as it feature over 2800 photographs and it was felt that this was an area that could be improved. We changed majority of photographs using images from my collection also with contributions from departments from around the world.
One of the areas I felt needed attention was the cover artwork as the recent editions lacked a coherent identity. I looked at the previous covers which are featured at the top of this page and they are all completely different. By designing a theme that could be used in future editions and be recognised as part of the Kanski brand. I wanted to give this edition a clean, clinical appearance with a simple design feature that could be continued through the next editions. I decided on a simple white cover with a red coloured band (this colour could change with future editions) and an ophthalmoscope or slit lamp in the background.
Recognised branding is crucial for establishing a unique identity, building customer trust, and making products easily identifiable in competitive markets.
It was decided that the the slit lamp photo worked best so we submitted this image and layout. The publishers came back with their ideas which I wasn’t too keen on and after a bit of a discussion a compromise was made. I still think my design is more elegant and looks more clinical but I was happy that the overall concept was accepted.
I was asked back to work on the tenth edition where more images were added and improved. The new cover for 9th edition gave as a template to work from so all we needed to do was decide on the colour and background image. The published came back with some ideas which included a darker blue band.
As for the 11th edition you will have to wait and see…
Due to the success of the design of the 9th edition cover I was asked to work on the fourth edition of Kanski’s Synopsis of Clinical Ophthalmology.
I submitted the retinal ishihara artwork for the Royal Photographic Society Scientific Imaging Competition for which I was awarded the Silver Medal and thought this design gave this edition an individual identity and would be something that stood out on a bookshelf.
We are just finishing the 5th edition and had finalised the cover artwork which will use a similar design as the 4th edition.
I was also asked if I could produce a promotional video for the 9th edition. I love creating short films and jumped at the chance. Elsevier was thrilled with the final product and I was invited to create another film promoting the 10th edition.