Omni Cubed, a US tool manufacturer, asked me to redesign 21 product manuals to reflect their focus on engineering and clean product design. The black and white booklets range from 12-40 pages and include three languages.

I worked as the Creative Director and lead illustrator for the project. Having a first hand working knowledge of the tools, I also served as the technical consultant for the diagrams, instructions and maintenance sections. 

I envisioned a super clean aesthetic with minimal overt document structure. I wanted to control the flow and pacing of information through metered use of negative space. Textual elements are held together by a strong underlying grid.

My team included 2 copy writers, an editor, an Omni Cubed customer service representative and 2 graphic designers.

I needed images that had informational clarity. And, it was required that the images be technically accurate enough to appease the right-brained engineers at Omni Cubed.

Printing quality was going to be questionable, so rather than risk fuzzy B/W photos. I wanted to illustrate everything with simple clarity. 

I wanted images that would be beautiful and appear almost three dimensional—so that they would be enjoyable and approachable for the reader. 

I struck the balance with a minimalist style between architectural rendering and an engineer's isometric schematic. I taught the designers, who helped produce the illustrations, a minimalist technique limited to only 5 line weights.

Using a style guide I wrote, we were able to produce coherent and consistent results. Deadlines were tight, but by setting clear goals and articulating specific visual expectations through the style guide, these proved fast to produce.

See more of my work at dwehaus.com