Red River Murders
A brand built for mystery
The Red River Murders is a mystery series by independent author Lee Clark, set in a small southern town where everyone knows each other and nobody talks. Lee came to me at the very start of the series with a clear sense of the world she was building, and needed a visual identity flexible enough to grow with it across book covers, merchandise, and whatever came next.
Before I opened a single design file, Lee handed me her book and told me to read it. That's where this brand started.
Lee trusted me completely with the vision, which meant I got to build the whole thing from the world she'd created on the page. The characters, the landscape, the feeling of a small town with a lot to hide. The goal was something gritty and atmospheric, dark enough to feel like a mystery and grounded enough to feel like a place that actually exists. All of that atmosphere found its home on the book cover, where the hand-drawn wordmark, rough textures, and custom Piney Bluff badge came together into something that feels like it's been around for years.
COLOR PALETTE
Pulled straight from the North Carolina landscape, anchored by the red that started it all.
FONTS
