Revolutionary Author

The Ask

T.J. London needed a personal brand identity for her historical fiction series set during the American Revolution. The logo had to feel bold and literary — something that could work as a publisher's imprint across a multi-book series, on social media, at speaking engagements, and on promotional materials. It needed to capture the revolutionary spirit of the stories while signaling that this was a serious and determined author brand.

The Solution

Inspired by the saying, ‘The pen is mightier than the sword.’ I created a mark that merges revolution and authorship into a single iconic image. A revolutionary war figure — tricorn hat, flowing cloak — wields a fountain pen like a musket, emerging from an ornate blackletter 'R.' The red ink at the pen's tip is the only color, a deliberate accent that signals both the act of writing and the blood of revolution. The mark works in full detail at large scale and as a recognizable silhouette at small sizes. Two versions were developed: a standalone mark for maximum flexibility, and a textured medallion version for premium applications like book covers and embossed materials.

Logo Versions

Primary Mark

Medallion — Option

Book Jacket Designs

Beyond the brand identity, T.J. London hired me to creative direct, art direct, photograph, retouch, and design the first three books in her Revolutionary Author series. T.J. sourced the uniforms herself — renting period pieces from a Broadway costume shop and enlisting a friend to model — and we shot all three covers in a single day in my studio. (Those are her hands in The Tory and The Traitor.) Each jacket carries the logo mark on the back cover, building a cohesive brand system across the entire series.

The Tory — Book One

The Turncoat — Book Two

The Traitor — Book Three