Behind The Scenes: Even More Than Yesterday

“I’m glad it’s possible for a person to feel so much like home. So right and so true.”

Lyrical, warm, and tender, every statement in Even More Than Yesterday is paired with a delightful illustration. From a French press with coffee set for two to a pair of toothbrushes at a shared sink and sets of playfully mismatched socks, the illustrations—hand drawn in gouache and assembled digitally—evoke scenes from a day at home with a loved one.

The designer focused on the little moments in every day that are so much brighter when shared.

“Our lives are so affected by the person we share them with, from grand romantic gestures to small imperfections that make you smile, and I wanted the visual narrative to tell that story,” says illustrator and designer Jill Labieniec.

As part of their creative process, both the author and illustrator immersed themselves in the themes of lasting connections and daily expressions of love. “I spent a lot of time thinking about the strong, caring, successful partnerships I know and see in my life and in my community,” author M.H. Clark recalls. “I thought about the people I love most in this world... I thought about the little, everyday ways that people have of keeping the flame of love lit.”

A book sitting open on a table beside a cup of tea evokes the quiet presence of a person you hold deep affection for. Each illustration in this book is paired with a warm sentiment. Here it reads “You, just there, in the other room.”

For Labieniec, who was preparing her own wedding invitations at the time she was first sketching ideas for this title, the work became reason to “pause and think back on my own relationship... even without knowing it, I put a lot of elements from my life into this book.” She also drew inspiration from romantic black-and-white movies, playing them in the background as she illustrated.

The majority of this book was illustrated from the designer’s kitchen table. “Being able to look around my home at all the things I love, and the memories they hold, helped me to focus on what I wanted to convey…”

Even More Than Yesterday honors the long-term journey two people have been on together as well as the smaller, day-to-day moments of the relationship. It offers many creative opportunities to tell someone how much you love and care. Clark suggests this title could be “given just because, or even read aloud as part of someone’s wedding vows... I love to think about the ways this book might help people express themselves and their love for each other.” This is also a book that inspires us to notice expressions of love that we can easily overlook.  As Labieniec says, Even More Than Yesterday can be a reminder “just to enjoy the beauty of having found someone who will eat all of your orange Skittles.”