The Opportunity

The Apocalypse Triptych was a bold indie collaboration between editor John Joseph Adams (Lightspeed Magazine) and author Hugh Howey (Wool, Sand, Beacon 23). Across three volumes, the series featured original fiction from some of the biggest names in speculative literature—including Charlie Jane Anders, Paolo Bacigalupi, Sarah Langan, Tobias S. Buckell, Ken Liu, Scott Sigler, Daniel H. Wilson, Tananarive Due, and many more.

Each anthology focused on a phase of “the end”:

• The End is Nigh: The apocalypse looms

• The End is Now: The apocalypse arrives

• The End Has Come: The apocalypse is past

Hugh, having worked with me before, pitched me to design the trilogy’s cover solution, and John was onboard with the idea.

The Approach

Three books, three stages of the apocalypse, all supported brilliantly with original artwork by Julian Aguilar Faylona. Julian’s work depicts a city progressing through the stages of the apocalypse; what John and Hugh hoped to do was show the same progression across the book covers.

Working with original art is always a blast, and Julian’s was terrific—it made my job easy. My responsibility was the design system: The typography, layout and arrangement of key cover elements, and narrative balance across all three volumes.

Ultimately, the covers needed to be:

• Cohesive across the full series

• Visually supportive of the story told by the artwork

• Scalable to multiple formats

The first book—the apocalypse is coming, but isn’t here yet—features typography that is clean, clear, strong, with all the expected balance and weights. The second book—the apocalypse is here!—introduces seismic tremors into the type lockup, shaking up the weights and sizes of text. The final book—the threat has passed, but we’re buried in the devastation—shatters the type, suggesting the ruins humanity is left with.

The Outcome

The trilogy was a standout indie release, garnering wide attention from both readers and press. Each book delivered its own chilling tone while remaining visually linked to the whole, helping readers immediately recognize where they were in the narrative arc of the apocalypse.

It was also a testament to trust: A return engagement with Hugh also became the start of a long-running design relationship with John, who brought me into several later anthologies.

The Apocalypse Triptych was, from the start, one of those rare collaborations where editorial vision, story quality, and design strategy aligned to produce something truly memorable.