Zenda Walker reached out to me through the Reedsy platform in 2021 to collaborate on her delightful children’s book, “Zara’s Wash Day”. As an accomplished beauty stylist, Zenda had a vision to showcase the rich diversity of African hairstyles and their impact on contemporary beauty trends. With the talented Nigerian artist, Princess Karibo, bringing the story to life through captivating illustrations, we embarked on a journey to create not just a book, but a beloved series called ‘Know Your Hairitage’. The book won numerous awards and we received a Netty Award for Design in the category of Social Impact.
Alongside the book, we crafted a unique brand identity and even designed a user-friendly ecommerce website. Zenda’s self-published book garnered recognition and accolades, catching the attention of the Hatchett Group publishing company, who eagerly joined forces to republish the book and continue the educational series with a second installment. Together, we celebrated the power of representation and the beauty of diversity.
Goal
Collaborating with Zenda Walker, we embarked on a creative journey to bring ‘Zara’s Wash Day’ to life, utilizing the captivating illustrations by Princess Karibo. Through our self-publishing endeavor, the book gained incredible traction, garnering viral attention and achieving notable accolades and awards.
Building upon this success, we went on to develop a cohesive brand around the book and its captivating series. A visually striking logo brand mark and an engaging website were meticulously crafted, aimed at promoting the revolutionary concept of ‘Know Your Hairitage’ and facilitating the sale of this remarkable book.
Approach
The book had to be extraordinary. It had to honor the rich African traditions while resonating with a contemporary aesthetic. I proposed incorporating African textiles and symbols throughout the book and website, infusing them with a vibrant cultural presence. To truly celebrate diversity, we carefully selected fonts that exude an African essence. The website’s imagery captures the captivating beauty of non-western beauty standards and traditions, embracing a cultural and diverse definition of beauty.
Results
Zenda Walker’s remarkable journey began with a captivating book launch, accompanied by a thoughtfully crafted website that showcased her unique brand and compelling story. With Zenda at the center, her book quickly garnered recognition within its first year, earning prestigious accolades such as the Writer’s Digest Award for Self Published Book and The Quill Award. The remarkable success of her book caught the attention of the renowned Hatchett Group, known for publishing James Patterson’s series, who eagerly picked up her work. Now, Zenda’s beloved children’s book, ‘Zara’s Wash Day,’ is set to return in January 2024 with a republished edition, paving the way for an enchanting series to follow shortly after. Adding to the excitement, award-winning actress Lapita Nyongo has graciously contributed the foreword to ‘Zara’s Wash Day.’ It has been quite a literary journey for her in such a short time.
I created the website for Know Your Hairtage to allow Zenda to grow her business and following as a platform to engage with her audience.
Zenda’s ecommerce website was custom built in WordPress with a rich library of resources, content and a events calendar that allows Zenda to offer workshops and facilitates her book tours and podcast engagements.
Anthony Foronda
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