User Design, Illustration and Typesetting ➜ Our self-produced books

The Journey of Larks

The title ‘The journey of larks’ in large black typography at the top left. A cartoon man jumping off the authors name ‘User Design’, off a diving board, into water that it made up of letters

Description

The Journey of Larks is played with language, words, illustration and typographic shenanigans:

  • A wince of dentists.
  • A lot of used car‑dealers.
  • A watch of Swiss.

The wit and poetry of this charming collection of collectives, will be gobbled up by anyone who enjoys wordplay and graphic communication.

Book type

Picture book, wordplay and graphic communication shenanigans.

Life

The title ‘Life’ in large thin drawn handwriting, at the top left. Then horizontal lines dividing the page vertically

Description

A picture-led book (no text) story about 1 day in the life of somebody.

Book type

Picture book, coffee table.

Punctuation..?

The title ‘Punctuation..?’ in large black typography at the top. Then below at the bottom, cartoon woman and man looking at each other, looking confused with their arms in the air

Description

Punctuation..? explains the functions and correct uses of 21 of the most used punctuation marks. It is humorous, fully illustrated using real-life scenarios and is for a wide age-range (young to ageing) and intelligence (emerging to experts).

Book type

Punctuation style guide, educational, reluctant teenage reading book, picture book.

Would you like a free copy of our books to review or promote?

If you would like to review our 3 books and feel you can promote them, we can sort out free copies for you, contact us and tell us about yourself.

Copyright notice for review photographs

You are only allowed to reproduce the pages shown on the 3 webpage links above. In fact, you can reuse those exact photos copyright-free, but please credit and link to us. Reproduction and reuse of the front and back cover is also allowed. We would appreciate it and insist you do not reproduce any other pages (it is not allowed).

High-resolution images of our 3 books

If you need high-resolution photos of our 3 books, from the 3 webpage links above, contact us.

Our business name

In 2015, we updated our name from User Design to User Design, Illustration and Typesetting.

To contact us, submit your feedback and comments

Contact us.

Book reviews

2022

Printed Matter Bookshop

Black outline box, with the word 'Printed Matter, Inc.' in bold black letters

Printed Matter the world’s leading non‑profit organisation dedicated to the appreciation of artists’ books, now stocks 3 copies of The Journey of Larks (link to the book on their website), and Life (link to the book on their website). New York, U.S.A.

2021

Helen’s Featured Picks

Shows the word 'Helen' in green on the left, then a pink fountain pen nib in the middle, to the right is the word 'Sword' in green

Helen from WriteSpace has featured our book Punctuation..? on her Helen’s Featured Picks books webpage. Auckland, New Zealand.

Big Fish Training

Brightside Digital Entertainment logo, shows a dark blue ractangle background, with the word 'brightside' in large thin white letters, with a pink repeated triangle icon on the left

Big Fish Training logo, shows a bright orange and yellow outline of a fish on the left, then the words 'BIG FISH' on 1 line in dark blue capital letters, then the word 'TRAINING' on the line below in light blue

Jo from Brightside Digital Engagement and Emma from Big Fish Training have mentioned our book Punctuation..? with a short comment on their LinkedIn. Reading, U.K.

Is Andrews blog

Is Andrews logo, large white capital letters 'I' 'J' 'L' 'A' on a green background

Is Andrews offers writing, editing and proofreading services and has showcased our book Punctuation..? on her blog. Coventry, U.K.

2020

That Explains Things

The text 'That Explains Things' in white letters on a dark green background colour

Nick from That Explains Things has showcased our book Punctuation..? on his Twitter. Oxford, U.K.

I Love Typography

Logo the letters 'ILT' in a lowercase stencil white font on a square red background

Johno from I Love Typography has showcased our book Punctuation..? on their Gift Ideas for Designers and Font People webpage. Vietnam.

Lorraine Forrest-Turner

Logo with the text 'Lorraine Forrest-Turner. Writer, Trainer' in all captials light grey text

Lorraine from Lorraine Forrest-Turner has showcased our book Punctuation..? on her Twitter. Buckinghamshire, U.K.

DropCapCopy

Logo 'DropCapCopy in a stencil font on a green circle badge background

Graeme from DropCapCopy has showcased our book Punctuation..? on his Instagram. Devon, U.K.

The Big Ideas Collective

Logo 'the big ideas collective' in large thin black letters

Jacky from the The Big Ideas Collective has showcased our book Punctuation..? on her Twitter. Yorkshire, U.K.

Parents in Touch blog

Parents in Touch logo in a large green handdrawn typeface

Hanna from the Parents in Touch website, has reviewed our book Punctuation..? St Leonards-on-Sea, U.K.

Mededitor’s Paragraph Factory blog

Mededitor’s Paragraph Factory logo

Daniel from his Mededitor’s Paragraph Factory blog has reviewed our book Punctuation..? Florida, U.S.A.

Editor Group

Editor Group logo

Grant on the Editor Group Book Club book list, has reviewed our book Punctuation..? Sydney, Australia.

2019

Luke’s English Podcast, Episode 587 and 588

Luke's English podcast logo

Luke’s English Podcast has done a 2-part podcast discussion of punctuation and a review of our book Punctuation..? It is really interesting to listen to and discusses many aspects of punctuation. Some people might think punctuation is not that important, but it definitely is. We are delighted with the 2 podcasts, well done Luke, great job. Here are the webpage links for Part 1 (Episode 587) and Part 2 (Episode 588), the podcasts are downloadable in mp3 format. Paris, France.

Literacy for Pleasure website

Literacy For Pleasure logo

Ross and Phil from the Literacy for Pleasure website have reviewed our book Punctuation..? Brighton, U.K.

2018

Inspire website

Inspire logo

Our 3 books are now on the Inspire website, a place where you can discover, collect and share books.

Blue Wolf Reviews blog

Blue Wolf Reviews logo

Janet from the Blue Wolf Reviews blog has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on her website. Burnside, Australia.

The Illustrationist blog

The Illustrationist logo

Peter from The Illustrationist blog has showcased our book Punctuation..? on his website [not online anymore]. There was also a giveaway of the book between 1st–5th October 2018. Devon, U.K.

Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators website

Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators (SWET) logo

Lynne from the Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators (SWET) has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on her website. Tokyo, Japan.

2017

Letterpress Project website

Letterpress Project logo

Karen from the Letterpress Project website has reviewed our books Life and Punctuation..? on her website. Worcester, U.K.

Carpe Librum book blog giveaway

Carpe Librum logo

Tracey from the Carpe Librum Book blog will be doing a giveaway of 1 copy of our 3 books starting today 20th October 2017 until midnight on Friday 27th October 2017. Australia.

Books for Topics website

Books for Topics logo

Alison has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on her website [review not online anymore]. Cambridge, U.K.

The Canadian Homeschooler

The Canadian Homeschooler logo

Lisa Marie has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on her blog. Ontario, Canada.

Lauren Holden Copywriter

Lauren Holden logo

Lauren a freelance copywriter and journalist, has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on her blog. Lancaster, U.K.

2016

Newsletter of the Canberra Society of Editors

Canberra Society of Editors logo

Farid from the Canberra Society of Editors has reviewed our book Punctuation..? in their newsletter September–December 2016. Manuka, Australia.

Reading Zone website

Reading Zone and School Zone logo

Lorraine a school librarian has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on the School Zone section of ReadingZone.com. Surrey, U.K.

The Teacher James blog

The Teacher James logo

James on his blog has reviewed our book Punctuation..? Brasil.

Editors Victoria newsletter

Editors Victoria logo

Louise from Editors Victoria in Australia reviewed our book Punctuation..? in their August 2016 newsletter. Victoria, Australia.

If you are looking for a compact reference book on punctuation, this is it.

The book is 34 pages long and covers 21 different punctuation marks. It’s even compact enough to punch a few holes in and insert into a folder for easy reference.

With a book like this available, there is really no reason why children should leave school without understanding the difference between a possessive and a plural apostrophe, or spend their time at university with the same dilemma.

For those of us who aren’t in school, or who have our commas, colons and semis sorted, it is still a handy reference book to check on the purpose of a comma or a colon. There are always some sentences that test your understanding of a punctuation rule, and for which this book would indeed be handy. It is also a good book to keep in mind for clients who need assistance with punctuation, and would like to do some work themselves.

The book also explains several uncommon punctuation marks: the pilcrow (a word that Microsoft Word doesn’t recognise yet, the mark itself is found in Word’s main toolbar); guillemets, what they are and what they are used for; and the interpunct.

The language is straightforward, simple and very easy-to-read. Make sure you take a moment to look carefully at the images. The messages were not always immediately obvious, but after a second or 2, I was chuckling that I’d missed the intended meaning.

I recommend this book for anyone wanting a simple reference guide for the rules of punctuation. (Review by Louise Zedda‑Sampson.)

Boldface blog

Boldface logo

Andy has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on his blog. Surry Hills, Australia.

Separated by a Common Language blog

separated by a common language logo

Lynne has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on her blog. Brighton, U.K.

2015

The Head’s Office blog

The Head's Office logo

Julia has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on her blog. Bristol, U.K.

Achilleas Kostoulas’s blog

Achilleas logo

Achilleas has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on his blog. Graz, Austria.

Hannah McCall’s blog

Hannah McCall logo

Hannah has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on her blog. Basingstoke, U.K.

Editage Insights website

Editage logo

Yateendra has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on the Editage website. Pune, India.

ELT Planning blog

ELT Planning logo

Peter has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on his blog. Bangkok, Thailand.

The Literacy Shed blog

Literacy Shed logo

Rob has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on his blog. Bury, U.K.

2014

Sprachrausch Translation blog

Sprachrausch logo

Else has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on her blog. Münster, Germany.

Wow Women on Writing blog

Wow Women on Writing logo

Margo has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on the Wow Women on Writing blog. U.S.A.

American Copy Editors Society

American Copy Editors Society logo

David Sullivan has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on the American Copy Editors Society website [website not online anymore]. Illinois, U.S.A.

TEFL Geek website

Pen & Prosper logo

David has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on his blog TEFL Geek. Coimbra, Portugal.

BEBC – Britain’s first and leading specialist ELT bookseller

BEBC logo

Our book Punctuation..? is now listed on their website.

Humanising Language Teaching magazine

Humanising Language Teaching Magazine logo

Hania in the Humanising Language Teaching (Year 16, Issue 2, April 2014) magazine has reviewed our book Punctuation..? The review can be read on their website. Poland.

Pen & Prosper blog

Pen & Prosper logo

Our book Punctuation..? has been reviewed by Jennifer on her Pen & Prosper blog. Chicago, U.S.A.

West Earlham Junior School’s blog

WEJS logo

Our book Punctuation..? has been reviewed by Jon on his West Earlham Junior School’s blog. Norfolk, U.K.

Teen Librarian blog

Teen Librarian logo

Our book Punctuation..? has been reviewed by Matt on his Teen Librarian blog. Chislehurst, U.K.

Big Time Literacy blog

Big Time Literacy logo

Our book Punctuation..? has been reviewed by Michelle on her Big Time Literacy blog. Illinois, U.S.A.

Writers Write website

Writers Write logo

Our book Punctuation..? has been reviewed by Mia on her Writers Write website. Pretoria, South Africa.

The Mashed Radish blog

The Mashed Radish logo

Our book Punctuation..? has been reviewed by John on his The Mashed Radish blog. Laguna Beach, U.S.A.

Patsy Collins blog

Patsy logo

Our book Punctuation..? has been reviewed on her blog [website not online anymore]. Hampshire, U.K.

Keltic specialist ELT online bookshop

Keltic logo

Our book Punctuation..? is now listed on their website [not online anymore]. Oxford, U.K.

Teach Them English website

Teach them English logo

Adam on his website Teach Them English [website not online anymore] has done a review of our book Punctuation..? Istanbul, Turkey.

Dolce Bellezze website

Dolce Bellezza logo

Dolce on her website Dolce Bellezze [website not online anymore] has done a mini review of our book Punctuation..? Naperville, U.S.A.

2013

Publication Coach website

Publication Coach logo

Daphne on her website Publication Coach has showcased our book Punctuation..? Vancouver, Canada.

English Grammar Revolution blog

English Grammar Revolution logo

Elizabeth on her blog English Grammar Revolution [book review not online anymore] has showcased our book Punctuation..? U.S.A.

Lavengro blog

Lavengro logo

Peter on his blog Lavengro has showcased our book Punctuation..? Barcelona, Spain.

The Book Design blog

The Book Design Blog logo

Paul on The Book Design blog [website not online anymore] has showcased our 3 books. Manchester, U.K.

Childtastic Books website

childtasticbooks logo

Sam on his blog childtasticbooks [website not online anymore] has reviewed our book Punctuation..? Oxford, U.K.

World’s Strongest Librarian website

World's Strongest Librarian logo

Josh on his website World’s Strongest Librarian [website not online anymore] has showcased our book Punctuation..? Utah, U.S.A.

Ryan’s Linguistics blog

Ryan's Linguistics logo

Ryan has reviewed our book Punctuation..? on his blog. Atlanta, U.S.A.

Creative Review magazine

Creative Review logo

Our 3 books have been featured on the Creative Review feed website [feature not online anymore]. London, U.K.

Omniglot website

Omniglot logo

Our book Punctuation..? is now featured on the Omniglot website.

a cLiL to cLiMB blog

a cLiL to Climb logo

Chiew from the blog a cLiL to cLiMB has reviewed our book Punctuation..? Spain.

And Read All Over blog

...And Read All Over logo

Joseph on his blog has reviewed our book Punctuation..? Espoo, Finland.

Making Noise and Hearing Things blog

Making Noise and Hearing Things logo

Rachael on her blog has reviewed our book Punctuation..? Seattle, U.S.A.

School Librarian Journal (Volume 61, Number 1, Spring 2013)

SLA logo

The School Library Association has reviewed our book Punctuation..? in their journal. Wiltshire, U.K.

My 1st thoughts when I picked up this slim volume was that surely we don’t need another book to explain the finer points of punctuation. There are plenty of simple guides around after all, and if you want another slant there’s always Lynne Truss’s wonderful Eats, Shoots and Leaves (2003). In fact I was wrong. This very spare book which has only a paragraph on each page, really does reduce punctuation to its basics – ideal for a busy teacher who feels insecure in this area or for an older student (GCSE or A Level) who wants revision support. And, simple as it is, it goes way beyond the ‘ordinary’ stuff of full stops, commas and apostrophes, although their use is explained.
We’re also told when to use different sorts of brackets: round ( ), square [ ] and curly braces { }. I learned a lot from this book despite having myself written many books for children which teach, among other things, punctuation. I now know, for example, the correct name for ¶ (a pilcrow) and « » which are called guillemets. Each page of this enjoyable, as well as educative book, has a witty childlike drawing as an illustration. I think it could be a useful 1 for the desktop library to consult when you need a quick answer to a punctuation problem. (Review by Susan Elkin.)

Emily Petersen blog

Emily Petersen logo

Emily on her blog has reviewed our book Punctuation..? South Kaysville, U.S.A.

Hotch Potch English website

Hotch Potch English logo

Sab from the website Hotch Potch English [website not online anymore] has reviewed our book Punctuation..? St Germain, France.

The Writer’s Drawer website

The Writer's Drawer logo

Beryl from the website The Writer’s Drawer [website not online anymore] has showcased our book Punctuation..? Tel Aviv, Israel.

2012

V&A Illustration Awards 2012

Victoria and Albert logo

We have submitted our book The Journey of Larks to the V&A Illustration Awards 2012 in the Book Illustration category. Wish us luck. London, U.K.

Turner Ink website

Turner Ink logo

Sarah from the website Turner Ink has reviewed our book Punctuation..? London, U.K.

The Truth About Grammar website

The Truth About Grammar logo

Jeff Puthuff from the website The Truth About Grammar [website not online anymore] has reviewed our book Punctuation..? California, America.

Word Origins website

Word Origins logo

Dave from the website Word Origins has reviewed our book Punctuation..? Toronto, Canada.

Pikaland illustration website

Pikaland logo

Amy Ng from the illustration website Pikaland has reviewed our 3 books. Malaysia.

Sentence First website

Sentence first logo

Stan Carey from the Sentence First website has reviewed our book Punctuation..? Ireland.

English Language Teachers Experiences website

ELT Experiences logo

Martin Sketchley from the www.eltexperiences.com website has reviewed our book Punctuation..? U.K.

British Book Design and Production Awards 2012

BBaPA logo

Our self-published book Punctuation..? came runner-up in the Environmental category in the British Book Design and Production Awards Competition 2012. The book is showcased in the award winners catalogue on page 25. Oxford, U.K.

Skills Workshop website

Skills Workshop logo

Maggie Harnew from the Skills Workshop website has reviewed and showcased our book Punctuation..? Oxford, U.K.

3×3 Magazine, Children’s Show competition, Number 9, 2012

3x3 logo

From 1,500 entries from 35 countries all over the world, our book The Journey of Larks has been awarded a merit (Young Adult Category) in the 3×3 Magazine, Children’s Show Competition, Number 9, 2012. New York, U.S.A. A subsequent printed annual will be published later in the year showcasing the work.

The New Yorker

The New Yorker logo

Our book Punctuation..? has been showcased by Mary Norris from The New Yorker magazine, in an article called Semicolons; So Tricky in the Page Turner section. New York, U.S.A.

European Cartoon Centre Cartoonbooks Club blog

European Cartoon Centre logo

Our 3 books are now at the centre and have been reviewed on their blog. Belgium.

The Designer’s Review of Books

The Designer's Review of Books logo

Andy Polaine from The Designer’s Review of Books has reviewed our 3 books. Wichita, U.S.A.

Copyediting.com

Copyediting.com logo

Erin Brenner from the Copyediting.com website [website not online anymore] has briefly reviewed our book Punctuation..? U.S.A.

Society for Editors and Proofreaders, Editing Matters magazine

SFEP logo

Our book Punctuation..? has been reviewed in the Society for Editors and Proofreaders, Editing Matters, May/June 2012 magazine. London, U.K.

Cool Hunting design blog

Cool Hunting logo

The Cool Hunting design blog has showcased our books. New York, America.

The Guardian newspaper: Steven Poole’s non-fiction choice

Guardian logo

Steven Poole has reviewed our book Punctuation..? in The Guardian newspaper in the Review part, 30 March 2012. London, U.K.

Under Consideration: FPO (For Print Only)

Under consideration logo

Under Consideration have reviewed and showcased 2 of our books The Journey of Larks and Life on their website. Austin, America.

Forbidden Planet International blog

Forbidden Planet International logo

Our books have been reviewed on the Forbidden Planet International blog [website not online anymore], an online store for comics, graphic novels and books. Yorkshire, U.K. Some of the comments by Richard Bruton were as follows:

Regarding the cartoon illustration in general:

The nearest I can get to comparison in my mind is the simple, primitive line art drawings that would accompany the great Spike Milligan, or something almost like the pencil scribbles of John Lennon.

Regarding The Journey of Larks and Life:

2 are definitely of rather limited appeal to me, yet also have that perfect X factor that could make them huge hits in the novelty book market come Christmas.

Regarding Punctuation..?:

[…] the 3rd really has a chance, if presented and marketed properly, at becoming a required text for every primary and secondary in the land.

The Cartoonist blog

The Cartoonist logo

Our books have been showcased on The Cartoonist blog [website not online anymore] by Ralf Zeigermann (graphic designer, cartoonist and writer). London, U.K.

It’s Nice That

It's Nice That logo

Our books have been showcased on their website in the monthly Things, 64 roundup section. London, U.K. 1 of their comments is as follows:

[…] Punctuation..? which combines illustration and instruction in a manual that should probably be put into the hands of schoolchildren everywhere (and probably a few grown-ups too). (Charlotte Simmonds.)

Jasmine Hortop’s blog

Jasmine Hortop's blog logo

Our books have been showcased on her blog [website not online anymore]. Birmingham, U.K.

The National Centre for Language and Literacy

The National Centre for Language and Literacy logo

Our books are now at the centre based at the University of Reading, U.K, and on their website [website not online anymore].