Recently, I sat down with my client from Ohio State University to discuss her custom coloring book and how it came to be.
The University Libraries promotes innovative research and creative expression, advances effective teaching, curates and preserves information essential for scholarship and learning at Ohio State, and shares knowledge and culture with the people of Ohio, the nation, and the world.
They decided to create a coloring book to commemorate Ohio State’s 150th Anniversary (sesquicentennial). They are hosting a community open house and expect many children to attend, so we thought the coloring book would be a nice gift for them.
My client said, “Once in a while, I have children visit University Libraries, and all I ever have in my office for them is candy. I’ve had the coloring book idea in my brain for a while (as a healthier giveaway option ) and the sesquicentennial gave me a good excuse to finally put one together. I wanted to be sure that the book included some fun facts about the university and highlighted the library collection, while at the same time being something fun the kids would want to use.”
When asked where they got their photos, she said they used some Ohio State historic images from University Archives and our Cartoon collection.
She said, “Our big event is on March 21, so we haven’t passed many out at this point. What I can tell you is that when I showed the final version to our administrators, they all requested their own copy. The responses from our faculty and staff have been excellent, and I know the kids will love them too.”
She even said, “Monica listened to my thoughts about those pages, and was able to bring them to life through her creative illustrations. They turned out great! Monica was always responsive and easy to work with as well.”
If you would like your own custom coloring book, please contact Monica at Monica@curiouscustom.com!