Interview: Ruth Bradford

Since launching in 2016, the award-winning Little Black and White Book Project run by Bristol-based graphic designer Ruth Bradford has enjoyed great success. Ruth produces books, flash cards and prints for babies which “aim to inspire the next generation of animal lovers and conservationists from as early an age as possible.” She tells Bristol 24/7 more about the project and her hopes for its impact.

What first inspired The Little Black & White Book Project?

I learned about the benefits of black and white images for new born babies when I was pregnant with my son in 2016. I went in search of some books to share with him but found the range really limited and all offering the same kind of simple subjects. As a graphic designer by trade, I decided to create some of my own illustrations celebrating some of the animals we had seen on our travels (we were living in Singapore at the time) After sharing them with some friends and other new parents, it became clear there was a gap in the market for some high quality content of this kind and so the business grew from there.

What has been the most challenging aspect of publishing the books?

I would say learning the process that exists around publishing. It’s fairly straight forward to buy ISBN numbers and do a print run but then making sure you’re in the right data bases such as Nielsen Book Data, getting distributors, sending copies to the British Library and generally being compliant with everything that comes with being self-published! Also the fact that I am doing everything myself, I don’t have a publishing giant with a marketing team to help me get noticed.

Have you been surprised by how well the books have been received?

I genuinely have! I’ve had so much lovely feedback over the last 18 months, it’s blown me away. It’s one thing to think you have a good idea but for it to be validated by real life customers is something I am so grateful for. This year I’ve tried to gain as much awareness for my brand as possible through entering awards. So to have won two silver awards, against giants of the publishing world- Usborne, Penguin and Campbell – plus winning Enterprise Nation Female Start-up of the Year, I couldn’t have hoped for a better reception for my books and product range.

You’ve been to both House if Parliament; How serious do you think our representatives are about protecting the environment and the natural world?

On a personal level, I think many of our representatives do truly care about our planet and the natural world. They’ve probably all watched Blue Planet II and want to help do their bit. What I don’t see is this translating into tangible action that actively encourages our population to do more. They could put so much more pressure on big businesses to change their practices as well as incentivising and helping each and every one us feel our own actions count towards the greater good. I am a huge believer in the power of the collective. Going forward, there should be many more benefits to a business running ethically and sustainably so this becomes the norm rather than the exception.

Have you considered publishing books aimed at older readers?

Never say never…but my passions are in the illustrations and the animals and I am definitely not a wordsmith. I would love to team up with a writer at some point to perhaps do a special edition to help raise awareness of conservation issues. But ultimately I want to hook kids on wildlife from as young an age as possible, and there isn’t really anyone who is the current go-to black and white brand in this area so there is a huge opportunity for me here.

What impact do you hope the books will have?

My dream is that owning one of my books becomes a bit of a rite of passage to welcome any new little person into our amazing world. I want to showcase animals from every corner of our planet to bring them to life for the caretakers of our future. We don’t give very young children enough credit for what they can absorb, the information they can take in. So educating them from birth about the incredible species our world has to offer, hopefully means they grow up knowing about them, caring about them and wanting to help protect them. When someone tells me their 2- year-old knows what a tapir is or a pangolin, it makes me so proud, and who knows maybe one of them will grow up to be the next Sir David Attenborough!

The latest titles in The Little Black and White Book Project are out now. For more information, visit https://blackandwhitebookproject.com/collections/books

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