Project: Almost Chosen No More — A Career & Leadership Playbook
Format: PDF, Letter size (8.5 x 11), print-ready, high resolution
Length: Approximately 55-60 pages
Timeline: 48-72 hours
Overview
I need a talented designer to take a fully written, structured ebook and turn it into a premium, professionally designed PDF. The content is complete — I need the design execution.
This is a career and leadership playbook targeting finance and risk professionals. The brand is sophisticated, dark, and institutional — think McKinsey meets human. It should feel like something worth far more than what someone paid for it.
Brand & Design Direction
Colors:
Background: #0a0a0a (near black)
Primary accent: #0CC0DF (cyan)
Secondary accent: #3B80A6 (steel blue)
Body text: #d0cfc8 (warm off-white)
White: #ffffff for headings and pull quotes
Typography:
Headings: Playfair Display or similar premium serif — bold, commanding
Body: Inter or similar clean sans-serif — readable, modern
Chapter numbers: Small caps, wide letter spacing, muted color
Two editions of the same playbook:
Dark edition — premium screen reading experience, dark background, off-white text
Light edition — identical layout, white background, clean and print-friendly
Both use the same brand accent colors (#0CC0DF and #3B80A6). Same typography. Same structure. Only the palette changes.
What the Design Needs to Include
Structural elements to design:
Cover page (branded, bold, impactful — I have a cover image to provide)
Table of contents (clean, elegant)
Introduction page
Part divider pages (5 total — these are major section breaks, should feel like a moment)
Chapter pages (21 chapters)
Part closing pages (5 total — short, punchy closing statements after each part)
AxioLead brand closing page
"What to Remember" desktop card — final page, designed to be printable as a reference card
Repeating design elements needed:
Pull quotes (styled, prominent, one per chapter approximately)
Story boxes (distinct background, labeled, set apart from body text)
Framework boxes (numbered lists in a structured container)
Reflection question sections ("Sit With This" — styled consistently throughout)
Chapter number + title treatment (consistent across all 21 chapters)
Running footer with author name and AxioLead™ branding
Assets I Will Provide
Complete content in Word document format (fully written, structured, ready to place)
Cover image (already designed, PNG)
AxioLead™ logo (PNG)
Author headshot + 2-3 additional personal photos for use throughout
Brand color codes (above)
This job post as the design brief
The designer is also encouraged to source appropriate on-brand stock images or visual elements as they see fit — leadership, finance, professional, urban/institutional themes. Clean and sophisticated only. No generic clip-art or cheesy stock photography. Image selections subject to my approval.
What I'm Looking For in a Designer
Strong portfolio of ebook, report, or editorial design — specifically dark/premium styles
Experience with multi-page PDF documents (not just social graphics)
Ability to design consistently across 55+ pages without losing quality
Delivers print-ready, high-resolution PDF
Communicates clearly and meets deadlines
Deliverables
Two complete versions of the full PDF:
Dark edition — black background (#0a0a0a), off-white text, cyan and steel blue accents. Premium screen reading experience.
Light edition — white background, dark text (#0a0a0a), same cyan and steel blue accents. Clean, print-friendly.
Both versions: print-ready, high resolution, Letter size
Both versions: identical content and layout — only the color palette changes
Editable source file for both versions (Canva, InDesign, or Affinity Publisher)
1 round of revisions included across both versions
To Apply
Please include in your proposal:
2-3 examples of similar ebook or multi-page PDF work (dark/premium preferred)
Your realistic timeline
Your fixed price for this project
Looking for someone who can start immediately.