A studio service
Sensory books for babies, designed for the hand as well as the eye.
A sensory book gives a baby something to touch, track and turn: a patch of fur, a crinkly page, a bold black-and-white pattern. We illustrate the spreads and prepare the texture placement, die-line and layer files that a novelty book manufacturer needs to make them.
N° 01What we design
Every element a baby can reach.
01
Touch-and-feel spreads
One large, simple subject per page with a marked area for fur, corduroy, foil, sandpaper or ribbon, sized to what your manufacturer can apply.
02
High-contrast first books
Black, white and one accent colour in bold shapes for the first months, when contrast is what a baby sees.
03
Peek-through and finger-trail pages
Die-cut holes and raised or grooved paths that lead a finger across the page.
04
Crinkle, squeak and mirror placement
Artwork laid out around the inserts a manufacturer offers, with each one's position marked.
05
Cloth and bath book artwork
Flat artwork and layout for soft books and bath books, supplied to the manufacturer's panel template.
06
Cover and packaging art
Cover illustration, title design and any hang tag or box artwork.
N° 02The part that goes wrong
The manufacturer decides the materials.
Sensory books are made, not just printed, so the maker is chosen before the artwork is finished.
01
Not a print-on-demand format
Board books with textures, holes and inserts come from a specialist manufacturer, usually overseas and with a minimum quantity. We prepare the files they ask for.
02
Textures that do not fit the art
A patch has to sit inside the drawing and clear the glue margin. Shapes are drawn around the patch sizes your manufacturer offers.
03
Detail a baby cannot see
Fine detail is wasted on this reader. Subjects are large, outlines bold, backgrounds plain.
04
Safety
Books for babies are tested for small parts, materials and saliva resistance. Your manufacturer or testing lab advises on the standard for your market; we design to it.
N° 03How it runs
Plan first, artwork after.
01
1. Page plan
We agree the number of spreads, the sensory element on each one and the age band, then request the dieline and material template from your manufacturer.
02
2. Sample pages
Two or three finished pages in the agreed look, so you approve the style and the difficulty before the rest is made.
03
3. Full interior
Every page produced to the plan, with answers or instructions where the format needs them, then one consolidated round of changes.
04
4. Cover and files
Cover design, front matter and print-ready files at your trim size, set to your printer's or platform's template.
N° 04Investment
Three ways to work together.
Single-format
From $1,600
A short touch-and-feel or high-contrast book.
- Cover illustration and title design
- Up to 6 spreads
- Texture placement and die-line layers
- Print-ready PDF
- 1 round of revisions
Signature
From $3,200
A full sensory board book.
- Cover illustration and title design
- Up to 10 spreads
- Texture, cut-out and insert placement layers
- Character integration
- 2 rounds of revisions
- Social marketing pack
Series
From $7,000
A range sharing one character and format.
- 3+ titles
- Shared characters, palette and cover system
- One material system reused across titles
- Full print files per title
- Series style guide
What every package includes, and what it does not
What you get
- Original artwork made for your book, with full commercial rights
- Editable source files as well as print-ready PDFs
- A written page plan agreed before artwork starts
- Files set to the template of the printer or platform you name
What we don’t do
- Printing, binding and shipping
- ISBNs, publishing account setup or marketing campaigns
- Licensed or trademarked characters
- Manufacturing, materials, inserts and safety testing
- Developmental or educational claims
Page counts above are caps. A longer book, extra revision rounds or a second language are quoted in writing before we start them.
N° 05Questions
The answers we give most often.
- Can a touch-and-feel book be printed through Amazon KDP?
- No. Print-on-demand services print standard paper books. Texture patches, die-cuts and inserts are added by a novelty book manufacturer, usually with a minimum quantity, and we prepare the files to their template.
- Do you make the fabric or cloth books themselves?
- No. We design the artwork and layout to the manufacturer's panel template; the sewing and assembly is theirs.
- What do you need from my manufacturer?
- Their dieline for the format, the list of textures and inserts they offer with sizes and glue margins, and their colour and file requirements. If you have not chosen one, we design to common board book sizes and adjust once you do.
- How many textures should a book have?
- Usually one per spread, so each page has one thing to discover. Each texture adds to the price your manufacturer quotes, so the count is agreed in the plan.
- Do I own the artwork?
- Yes, with full commercial rights and layered source files.
Start your book
Have a book like this in mind?
Tell us the audience, the page count and where it will be printed. You get a page plan and a fixed quote in writing.