Houston, we have a cover!

They say not to judge a book by its cover… but really, everyone does. So it’s critical to have something that’s impactful, distinctive, and sends the right message about what’s inside.

My original concept was to include a picture of myself, facing back (I’m not known as the most photogenic guy in the world) with my backpack plainly visible and on it, a rainbow flag where most people would put their national flag (yes, during the actual trip I did the oh-so-predictable and had a Canuck flag… but oh, the marvels of Photoshop). This looked fine, but the feeling was that this stamped the book with a youth/budget travel moniker — when in fact the story is about so much more than just that.

The original designer, a friend of mine, wasn’t available for revisions, and another friend who took a stab at it was insistent on leaving in the backpacker image and wouldn’t hear otherwise; finally, a super team right here in San Francisco managed to get it done quickly and affordably… and I daresay were the first to nail the book title and concept with simple, visual iconography.

So thanks again to Lisa and Nicole at MindHive Design — you’re the greatest!