Hello!

I’m Reyhana, an illustrator, designer, and picture book author from Lancashire, UK.

I worked as a magazine designer for over 10 years before venturing into the wonderful world of children’s book design and illustration in 2018. Through my own love of reading since childhood, and my strong belief in the importance of raising children as readers, my career naturally gravitated towards book design, and I’ve been fortunate to have worked with a number of publishers and self-published authors, both in the UK and internationally. Whilst I have designed a wide range of books, I find children’s picture books a wonderfully creative challenge and an absolute delight to work on.

In late 2022, I was accepted on the very first HarperCollins Design Academy course, which gave me valuable insight and training on designing for traditional publishers, and some of my clients now include Hachette Children’s, Scholastic, Helbling (Belgium), National Geographic, Kube Publishing, National Literacy Trust, Planting People Growing Justice Press (USA), and the award-winning Storymix - a children's fiction development company with a focus on inclusive representation.

At home, I can often be found baking cakes, reading historical fiction or retellings of Greek myths, or trying to keep my garden in bloom…if I’m not planning my next trip somewhere where I can top up my Vitamin D and my natural tan!

Illustration

I particularly enjoy illustrating intricately detailed scenes, bursting with patterns, textures and an abundance of botanical elements, designed to enchant and fascinate younger audiences.

My passion and strength is in background design. I find that compelling backgrounds can set scenes and tell stories in themselves, with characters adding an extra dimension to the story afterwards. I usually find that an image can look quite bare without any greenery or botanical elements - so whether it’s a desert scene, a built- up city, or even a beach, there’ll be a tree or plant in there somewhere!

Design

I primarily work as a book designer - from formatting picture books and activity books, to cover design for books ranging from adult non-fiction to YA. Additonally, I work on a range of design projects that are linked to book publishing, including pitch decks, rights guides and sell-in sheets.

I also create websites for authors, marketing and promotional material, and animated book trailers.

Writing

I’ve found a special joy in creating activity books and resource packs for children aged around 5+, developing activities that are creative, fun and educational. Treasure maps with rhyming clues, drawing games. lots of art, learning new languages, and a little bit of maths - activities that can be done in the book but also in the home and outdoors. All my activities will have some sort of element that will nurture positive values - developing empathy, respect, honesty and kindness, for example. Have a read of some of my activities here.

I have written for National Geographic Learning, and also hope to publish my own picture books in the future, having written a handful of stories drawing on my upbringing, life experiences, and interests.