Printables that survive real life

I've drawn a lot of pages that looked great on screen and died on the fridge. The ones that last tend to share a few unglamorous qualities, and most of them are about restraint rather than flair.

Thick lines, generous space

Little hands overshoot. Bold outlines forgive that, and open areas give crayons somewhere to go without frustration. Detail is tempting; for young children it usually backfires.

Ink-friendly by default

Nobody prints a book that drinks a whole cartridge. We keep large solid fills off the page and design for an ordinary home printer on ordinary paper, because that's what everyone actually has.

• One clear subject per page, not a crowded scene
• A small win built in — a fact to read, a thing to find
• Single-sided, so pages can be pulled out and pinned up
• Tested on real kids before it ever ships

The two-minute test

Before a page makes it into a book, my own two children get first pass. If they finish it and reach for the next one without being asked, it stays. If they wander off, back to the drawing board — literally.