cover of university of iowa stead family children's hospital book cover

University of Iowa Center for Advancement

The Challenge

Building a world class children’s hospital is a massive undertaking. So when the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital was finally completed in 2017, our friends at the University of Iowa Center for Advancement came to de Novo looking for a way to show their gratitude to major donors, whose transformative gifts made it all possible.

Industry

The Work

Children's Hospital popup book illustration
Children's Hospital popup design illustration
university of iowa stead family pop up book illustration

Our Approach

We developed a commemorative coffee table book that tells the story of how the hospital went from concept to completion—and how donors made it happen. To create something memorable, our team partnered with a paper engineer, watercolor artist, printer and book bindery to create stunning, highly detailed pop-ups that brought the story to life.

Each book was customized and included photos of the donor at the grand opening celebration to make this even more personal and impactful.

Children's Hospital cover and spread

From Dream to Reality Video

de Novo worked closely with the University of Iowa Center for Advancement team to document the process and show off the finished product. Watch as Creative Director Seth Friedman talks about the work, creativity and collaboration that went into the book.