D.L. Grace
Book series cover art
Dominic is a long-time friend, so this project came with a good understanding of the person behind the books and the stories he wanted to tell. There was also a shared familiarity with military life and language, which gave the creative process a useful shorthand. It helped us talk naturally about tone, detail and atmosphere, without the work ever needing to over-explain itself.
As D.L. Grace, Dominic writes military-intelligence thrillers shaped by lived experience, in-depth knowledge and a clear understanding of pressure, conflict and consequence. The covers for No Safe Ground and The Ghost of Grozny needed to capture that in a way that felt credible, cinematic and commercially strong.
A key part of the process was developing the characters from the detailed descriptions in the books, building out their look and feel in different poses and environments so they could work across covers, social content, PR and wider promotional material.
The cover style was created to feel consistent across The Operator Series, with each book having its own atmosphere while still sitting together as a collection. With Devil’s Passage currently in development, the result is a serious, distinctive visual language for the series.
I came to Ryan at Studio Aitch with a brief for two book covers and an author website. I left with a series identity. The second cover became the defining driver for the whole brand. It gives the series an atmosphere and a visual language that ties the series together.
What sets Ryan apart is the combination of listening and pushing. He takes the brief seriously, then suggests directions I had not considered and would not have arrived at alone. Every round of iteration moved the work forward and upward. Professional, friendly, quick to respond, willing to challenge the norm and push boundaries when it serves the brief.
If you want a designer that goes further, Ryan at Studio Aitch is the only choice. I will now only use studio aitch and Ryan for future projects, a brand I can trust.
Dominic Grace, Author
