Little Blue Hen Book

ROLE

Editorial + Illustration

TIMELINE

Aug 2024 - Nov 2024

PLATFORM

Print

As part of Valley Water’s in-house design team, I was tasked with updating The Little Blue Hen, a children’s book originally created in the 1980s to teach young kids about water conservation. The book is a staple in Valley Water’s outreach efforts, used in classrooms and community events to educate children ages 4–8 about the importance of saving water. My role was to modernize the visuals and layout while preserving the heart of the original story.

OVERVIEW

CHALLENGE

Modernize the illustrations and layout in a way that would engage children ages 4–8, without losing the charm of the original book. At the same time, the redesign needed to align with Valley Water’s educational goals and be age-appropriate, visually accessible, and culturally relevant for local communities.

APPROACH

As part of Valley Water’s in-house design team, I collaborated closely with the education and outreach departments to reimagine the book from the ground up. I developed a new visual style with playful, expressive characters and vibrant environments to better connect with young readers. The page layouts were carefully restructured to improve readability and reinforce key conservation messages through visual storytelling. Throughout the process, I balanced creativity with educational intent, ensuring every illustration supported the learning objectives while making the story fun and engaging.

I began by analyzing the original book’s narrative structure and identifying key opportunities to improve clarity and emotional engagement. I also reviewed current children’s books to better understand illustration trends, visual pacing, and character development appropriate for ages 4–8.

Working closely with the education and communications teams, I reimagined the Little Blue Hen with a more expressive, colorful, and friendly look. The full book was illustrated in a playful, approachable style that enhanced visual storytelling and aligned with Valley Water’s mission.

Each spread was carefully designed to support key conservation messages—such as turning off the faucet, planting drought-tolerant gardens, and encouraging teamwork. I refined the layout to ensure readability and engagement, with thoughtful integration of type and image.

The redesigned Little Blue Hen is now used throughout Santa Clara County in classrooms, libraries, and family outreach programs. With its refreshed visual language and improved accessibility for early readers, the book continues to serve as a fun and meaningful tool to teach kids about saving water.

CONCLUSIONS

I led the full illustration redesign, from character development to final page layouts, and collaborated cross-functionally with Valley Water’s education, communications, and outreach teams. My work included visual conceptualizing, style exploration, custom illustration, and layout design, ensuring the final book was both visually appealing and aligned with the organization’s educational goals.

CONTRIBUTIONS