We give you Play Ball!, a book that stitches together over 100 years of regional baseball stories, all anchored around the rise and resilience of the Vancouver Canadians.

Our design brief was clear: create a book that was flippable, image-forward, and never intimidating. Based on sample spreads, we leaned into bold, blocky headlines; deep archival dives; and dynamic layout decisions that allowed illustrations, ticket stubs, field maps, and player profiles to pop.

That meant moving beyond linear biography to build a story out of eras and experiences. We organized the book into five historical eras, from the earliest sandlots to the Canadians’ triumphant return to Nat Bailey Stadium after the pandemic years. Along the way, we worked in dozens of voices and vignettes, from beloved local sportswriters to long-time ushers, superfans, and behind-the-scenes figures.

We were particularly inspired by the dense but clear layout of the memorabilia spreads and image-collage treatments, which helped unify a wildly diverse collection of photographs, ads, cartoons, and ephemera into something tactile and compelling.

Through partnerships with local archives and expert contributors — including collector Dave Eskenazi and historian Kit Krieger — we unlocked stories that had never before been collected in one place. And under the pen of acclaimed sportswriter Tom Hawthorn, the tone struck a perfect balance between reverent and rollicking.