Pamela Geismar

Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Las Vegas is a wonderful French restaurant perched in a half-size replica of the Eiffel Tower. Floating above the Strip, with views of the Bellagio fountain show at night, it's a romantic and fun night out. Susie Cushner did her magic, taking seductive photographs of the recipes and the restaurant experience, and the design emulates the classic French brasserie feel of the restaurant interior. The red velvet cover with silver foil stamping was the “piece de resistance,” successfully making it both cookbook and souvenir, allowing guests to take some of the romance and atmosphere home with them.

Eiffel Tower Restaurant / Chronicle Books Custom Publishing
Art direction, cover and interior design
Photographs by Susie Cushner
7.75 x 11.25 inches, 144 pages
Hardcover with red velvet cover and silver foil stamping

Ailey Ascending is a book of Andrew Eccles' stunning photography of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on their fiftieth anniversary. The long-time artistic director, Judith Jamison, wanted to express upward motion and the spiraling growth that the company has been enjoying, so I drew and incorporated swirls into the text pages. Otherwise I let the beauty and juxtaposition of the images tell the story of this remarkable company.

Chronicle Books
Cover and interior design
Photographs by Andrew Eccles
10 x 12 inches, 144 pages
Jacketed hardcover

I was entrusted with the design of the fiftieth anniversary celebration book (didn’t there have to be a book?!) for Chronicle Books. It was a blast to work on, trying to capture the spirit of our publishing as well as the spirit of the company. So much fun was had, and such fun books came out of that ever-changing collaboration of creative passionate minds!

Selected as one of the American Institute of Graphic Arts’ 50 best covers of 2017

Ryan and Regina might be best known for their haunted dolls, wax collection, exploded skulls, and even a vintage execution chair, but it was the antique books that inspired this book design. Every aspect is informed by a volume in their collection, from the typographic styling to the treatment of the table of contents and the framing of the inset images. One of my favorite details is the marbled endpapers which apparently is how books were bound back in the day. The bookplate image is an actual old bookplate from their collection, too. Such fun to play in this antique vernacular!

Chronicle Prism
Art direction, cover and interior design
Cover photograph by Nicolas Bruno
Photographs by David Zeck
6 x 9 inches, 304 pages including color insert
Unjacketed hardcover with debossing

This wonderful non-fiction book explored animal rituals around emotions, play, and love, demonstrating how important rituals can be for humans as well. The author, scientist Caitlin O'Connell, took photos on her research trips, allowing me to create an elegant package that brought the writing to life.

Chronicle Prism
Design cover and interior
6 x 9 inches, 244 pages
Jacketed hardcover, black and white interior with color insert

I had the honor of designing the cover of the catalogue for an AIGA San Francisco event, and had a blast creating a silkscreened cover on a 3-piece case with exposed chipboard. This design was chosen out of several entries, I think because the repetition, unexpected, and layering made it eye-catching and fun.

AIGA San Francisco
Cover design
6 x 6 inches
Exposed chipboard cover with silkscreen and color stamping

This lush book of photographs by Molly Chappellet conveys the experience of visiting LongHouse, a beautiful garden and art preserve in Easthampton, NY. Jack Lenor Larsen was a textile designer of great renown, and a man who lived an artist’s life. His gardens are open to the public part of the year, so everyone can experience the unexpected (and always evolving) mixture of art and planting he created. Captured with Molly’s artist’s eye over many years, the moody moments, loving details, and breathtaking panoramas through all seasons tell a unique story of life and art at LongHouse.

Chronicle Books
Cover and interior design
Photographs by Molly Chappellet
9.5 x 11.75 inches, 240 pages
Unjacketed hardcover, cloth spine with handmade Japanese paper and foil stamping

The interior of this book is a series of color grids built from 2-, 3- and 4-color combinations of the basic printing colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). As a book designer, it’s insanely useful! I designed the cover for the Chronicle Books edition, and wanted to appeal to designers and to showcase the vibrancy and beauty of colors and combinations of colors.

Recognized as a Bookbuilders West outstanding cover.

This beautiful personal memoir/essay by Arielle Egozi is an exploration of what it means to be true to yourself instead of sticking to what society expects of you. Arielle was a great collaborator, with her eye on the pulse of what’s going on in the fashion and marketing world and it was exciting to develop a cover that was unexpected and broke rules of “good taste” while still conveying the tenderness of a vulnerable soul.

Chronicle Books 2024
Cover and interior design
5.5 x 8.25 inches, 272 pages
Paperback with 1-color interior

This charming (sorry) book features the collection of the wonderful Tracey Zabar, with personal stories from Tracey and other charm bracelet fans as well as symbolism and history behind the many charms made. With the design, I was trying to create a retro feel that also honored the beautiful details of Tracey's many bracelets and charms.

Stewart, Tabori & Chang (Abrams Books)
Cover and interior design
Photographs by Ellen Silverman
8 x 8 inches, 96 pages
Jacketed hardcover

According to legend, the Bloody Mary was invented by a St. Regis bartender. This lavish little book was created for St. Regis hotels, celebrating their hotels around the world by highlighting the different versions of Bloody Mary cocktails each hotel has developed. Combining location photography and watercolor illustrations of each recipe, with a multi-textured cover, the book was a luxe little give-away for favored guests.

St Regis Hotels / Chronicle Books Custom Publishing
Cover and interior design
Illustrations by Bil Donovan
6 x 8 inches, 144 pages
Unjacketed hardcover with spot varnish and foil stamping

A second Bobbi Brown book that is a topic near and dear to my heart: how beauty is not about makeup, it’s about eating well, taking care of yourself, and feeling confident. I love Bobbi Brown’s messaging to women!

Chronicle Books
Cover and interior design
Photographs by Ben Ritter
7.5 x 9, 224 pages
Unjacketed hardcover

This non-fiction hardcover was written by CNN Climate Correspondent Bill Weir in the form of a letter to his young son. The book is structured around the levels described in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, so I used that pyramid as a visual anchor throughout the book.

Chronicle Prism
Cover and interior design
6 x 9 inches, 256 pages
Jacketed hardcover, 1-color interior

A wonderful book about how to figure out your own personal style and embody it, Allison had the vision and Laura Palese created a fantastic interior design. But the cover was hard to agree on. Everyone wanted something from the cover: make it clear it’s about fashion, make it timeless, make it elegant like author Allison Bornstein, make it accessible to all no matter what their style so everyone knows the book is meant for them, and so on. In the end, I designed this type-only treatment which won out for being on-brand and timeless, with some hits of unexpected orange to stand out.

Selected for a Publishing Professionals Network outstanding cover award.

The inspiring Bobbi Brown made this book to focus on makeup for the eyes: makeup basics, different looks, as well as what to do when you wear glasses. We wanted it to be downtown hip and yet easy to follow and accessible to an audience looking for basic information and ideas. The design was inspired by fashion magazines and catalogues.

Chronicle Books
Cover and interior design
Photographs by Ben Ritter (interior)
Cover photo by Henry Leutwyler
6 x 8 inches, 144 pages
Unjacketed hardcover

This book has long been a favorite of mine. I paired Howard Schatz's modern, unexpected portraits of brand new infants with a modern ungridded approach, letting each baby's name and age dance around in response to the photos, but always letting the photo (and the child) be the star. Who can resist those toes?

Chronicle Books
Cover and interior design
6 x 6 inches, 96 pages
Jacketed hardcover

This cookbook was culled from the best recipes published in the San Francisco Chronicle over many years. We wanted it to be a simple classic looking cookbook to showcase the great recipes and tips while keeping it affordable and prioritizing the ease of use. I used 19th-century engravings of food and kitchen tools as the understated illustrations.

Chronicle Books
Cover and interior design
8 x 9.125 inches, 424 pages
Paperback

This slim cookbook was a celebration of all things blueberry. The feel was easy, fun, and round, with a variety of blues and purples.

Stewart Tabori & Chang (Abrams Books)
Cover and interior design
Photographs by Zeva Oelbaum
6 x 9.5 inches, 128 pages
Jacketed hardcover

This book was the completion and redesign of my senior project from college. Working with two amazing women from the first class of women at Yale, we updated and finished editing all the material I gathered as a senior in college, put it into a readable paperback format, and added some additional content they provided from the time. It was distributed at a conference on Women at Yale.

Personal project