Hi, I'm Dai. I make books.

I also design posters and advertisements, make digital games accessible to the visually impaired, manage crowdfunding projects, create brand identities and marketing plans, and very occassionally write things.

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Services

Layout / Design
Art Direction
Project Management
Crowdfunding
Brand Identity
PDF Remediation
Marketing / Social Media
+ consultation for all above
  
Selected Works

Date

2019
2019
2020
2020
2022
2022
2022
2022
2022
2022
2023
2023
2023
2023
2024
2024
2024
Project

The Demon Collective, Vol. 1
Magical Industrial Revolution
Libreté + Fleur Du Mall
Lorn Song of the Bachelor
ALIEN The Roleplaying Game
ARCventure Series
BX: A Cipher Universe
Gangs of Titan City
The Monster Overhaul
Old School Essentials
Eat the Reich
Moonlight on Roseville Beach
Social Media Management
Throne of Avarice
Cairn 2E Boxed Set
INEVITABLE
MOTHERSHIP 1E Deluxe Set

Client

GMDK
Skerples
GMDK
Exalted Funeral
Free League Publishing
Exalted Funeral
Dreamyard NYC
SoulMuppet Publishing
Skerples
Necrotic Gnome
Rowan, Rook, & Deckard
R. Rook Studio
Space Penguin Ink
SoulMuppet Publishing
Space Penguin Ink
SoulMuppet Publishing
Tuesday Knight Games

Work

Project Management
Crowdfunding
Project Management
Layout / Design
PDF Remediation
Layout / Design
Layout / Design
Layout / Design
Crowdfunding
PDF Remediation
PDF Remediation
Layout / Design
Marketing / Social Media
Layout / Design
Marketing / Social Media
Layout / Design
PDF Remediation

The Monster Overhaul
The Monster Overhaul

A5 hardcover, 336pp
Published by Skerples
2022

Our Kickstarter success with Magical Industrial Revolution led Skerples and I to seek out even loftier heights, and so in 2022 we launched the campaign for The Monster Overhaul, a massive TTRPG bestiary that raised its funding goal in under two hours and would go on to make over $160,000 before the campaign ended. 

This project utilized the same template I designed for Magical Industrial Revolution, and Skerples wrote directly into layout to ensure that every single page had as much gameable material in it as physically possible. After the book was written, I went back through and tweaked everything, adding page decorations and adjusting spacing, as well as designing the twenty chapter covers that grace each section. 

In designing and marketing the campaign, I was determined to get as much market coverage as possible without actually spending any money on advertising. To do this, I reached out to podcasts and other content creators, and created a series of daily social media blasts in the weeks before the campaign. By the time the campaign actually launched, we had nearly 2,500 followers on our pre-launch page, with a final conversion rate of 34%. 

The printing and distribution of the book was handled seperately for domestic and international backers, with the USA and Canadian books being printed by Friesens and the UK, Europe, and rest of world backers receiving books printed by Inky Little Fingers. All books were printed on 120gsm uncoated white paper with a matte laminate cover, a red silk ribbon, and were shipped alongside three sticker sheets and an art card. Distribution was handled by IndiePressRevolution (USA), Compose Dreams (Canada), and SoulMuppet Publishing (UK, EU, and rest of world).

Writing by Skerples.
Illustrated by Lucas Roussel, Robin Carpenter, Iguanamouth, Logan Stahl, Ash Rudoph, Nadhir Nor, Crim_Reaper, Naf, Luka Rejec, Erin Kubo, Conor Nolan, and Frenden.
Cartography by Scott Wegener and Dyson Logos.
Editing, Design, and Crowdfunding by Dai Shugars.





©2024 Dai Shugars | DAI Design Works, LLC