Elementals
Book Series for the Naturally Curious
The Challenge
In 2023, the good people at Center for Humans and Nature Press needed a set of book covers that could handle the emotional, philosophical, and weight of the elements themselves. No big deal. The series spans five volumes—Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and An Elemental Life—each asking how humans fit into the vast, interdependent systems of our planet. The challenge was to design covers that could hold complexity, beauty, and scale, while still feeling cohesive as a series. Essentially: make the elements look profound, interconnected, and readable on a bookshelf.
The Client
Humans and Nature Press
Industry
Publishing
Services
Brand Identity | Cover Design | Internal Imagery
Credits
Art Direction & Design Production: Mere Montgomery
Executive Editor: Gavin Van Horn
In Collaboration with LimeRed Studio, Inc.
The Approach
To capture the many ways each element shows up in the world, I built a flexible but repeatable system. Each cover features a one-of-a-kind, hand-built kaleidoscopic collage composed of living things associated with its element. The format is intentionally formulaic: same structure, different life, allowing each volume to feel distinct while clearly belonging to the same family. The result is a set of covers that feel abundant, layered, and alive, without tipping into visual chaos (mostly).
The Inspiration
Each collage draws from vintage illustrations sourced from the Biodiversity Heritage Library, an open-access archive dedicated to documenting life on Earth. These images reflect a long human fascination with the beauty, complexity, and mystery of the natural world, evidence that we’ve been trying to observe, categorize, and understand the elements for centuries. Using these historical illustrations grounds the series in that shared curiosity, connecting past ways of seeing with contemporary questions about our relationship to the planet.
Featured at Vogue Photo in Milan, 2025
Impact & Outcome
Together, the covers function as a visual ecosystem. On their own, each volume reflects the richness of its element; together, they form a cohesive, contemplative series that invites readers to slow down and look closer. The identity sets the tone for the books inside, while creating a recognizable system that holds space for complexity, connection, and life in all its forms.
abundant, layered, and alive
