Laura Jones, My Friend, and Book Jacket Designer

Is it me, or does the phrase, “practicing gratitude,” seem like the word ‘practicing’ is not necessary?

I get the premise. We should all be grateful, and for some, you need a reminder, to make it a proactive component of your life. That’s ok with me. But.

When it comes to many people in my life, gratitude comes quite naturally. And Laura Jones is indeed one of them that I am grateful for.

I still remember the day, circa 2004, when I met with Laura. I went to interview her at the Ferry Building in San Francisco with a colleague of mine. We were in need and search of a talented graphic designer that could support our growing PR and marketing practice. Specifically, we were doing newsletters, traditional print advertising, website design and development, and the emerging tactic of digital advertising.

I had a team for 6 years and everything was working fine, but one day the lead designer told me that they were resigning all their accounts to go work full-time for one of their accounts, which happened to offer something new called “search.” As in replace the library and all other resources and find what you need to know online. I had little faith in the business concept and offered my opinion on the matter, yet off they went anyway. In hindsight, I trust my two former designers did very well with Google.

Laura immediately backfilled the previous team and brought on a colleague when our business expanded considerably over the next few years. She has been a friend and trusted designer ever since.

So naturally, when In Between Drinks was taking shape and targeted for publication in a few months, I tapped Laura to design the book jacket. I am more than pleased and from the bookstores I have placed the book in, it looks sharp on the bookshelves, and stands out from others. Thank you, Laura!