During our first meeting, the client and I wondered why so many of the birth announcements for girls seemed to take a very stereotypical route and agreed that we would both prefer a different approach to her own daughter’s birth announcement. Thus, trying not to follow well-trodden paths, we opted for a more narrative approach that would center around a fancy drop cap of her baby’s first name’s initial, C.

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During my brainstorming process I came up with the idea to incorporate the little girl’s star sign into the illustration. I gave the announcement a decidedly nautical look: The ‘C’ features fishtails which mimic serifs and a little pool is encircled by the letter’s bowl. For underwater plants, I opted for vernal foliage and flowers – in keeping with the theme of tender and upbeat newborn life – that are reminiscent of algae only through their wavy movement in the water.

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Additional information on C’s height, weight, and time of birth is shown in a more playful way: little treasures like scales, a pocket watch and a tape measure can be found floating freely in the water.