Through Obstacles to the Stars
A book where each of the 36 stories got its own colour and a visual strong enough to carry it.
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Client & context
Through Obstacles to the Stars — 36 stories of women from around the world. An authorial project by Kamila Paličková. Several months of intense work so that every story would get a visual strong enough to carry it.
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The problem
Design the cover and the interior layout so they capture the energy of the book. The client didn't want a safe solution. She wanted a cover that would give the book a face of its own.
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What I did
I designed the cover and the complete interior layout. I proposed adding a connecting thread between the 36 personal stories — and Kamila took it further in her own way: she wrote stories about female strength across cultures. That gave the book a deeper dimension.
The story of the cover
The cover is the first encounter with the soul of a book. I only knew two things about it: the woman would have her hair down, and she would be touching a star.
Across cultures, loose hair means freedom, authenticity and raw strength. And the star isn't just a star — it's a sun. The light a woman takes back as her own. The courage to touch your own strength, even when it feels lost or broken.
One essence guided me: a rise in energy. The sun coming up over the horizon, a woman confident and in her power. A shift from something that was asleep and searching to something that finds itself exactly where it always belonged.
“Kamila rules with pen and word — I answer with brush and pencil.”
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Key decisions
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A connecting thread between the stories
I proposed adding a connecting thread to the 36 personal stories. Kamila took it further in her own way — she conceived and wrote stories about female strength across cultures. That gave the book a deeper dimension.
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Warm tones with one rebellion
Warmth, sun, energy that flows. And a strong accent of untamedness — blue hair that deliberately breaks out of the palette.
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A unique colour for every woman
Each of the 36 women got her own colour, used across large areas inside the book. A set of 36 colours = the diversity the book represents.
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A balance of darkness and light
On the cover the woman reaches for a star shining in the dark, not directly for the sun — deliberately. In older systems darkness wasn't the opposite of good, but the fertile ground life grows from. That symbolism holds the whole cover concept together.
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Result
The book drew media attention and 400+ enthusiastic reactions at the launch and signing. An English translation is in preparation.
“The result is this good because I gave Jitka my trust, didn't breathe down her neck, and let her work her magic.”
