Style Your Stack Design: Rona Maynard

The doyenne of the personal essay.

Kudos from Rona Maynard of Amazement Seeker

“Nan has it all: style, marketing savvy and a keen eye for each client's distinctive essence. More than an ace designer, she's been a trusted partner in bringing my work to the world with power, presence and authenticity. She listened to my hopes and set me straight––in the nicest way––when I needed to let go of a bad idea. If I still ran a major magazine, I'd want Nan's magic touch on the pages. She not only elevated my stack in record time, she made the whole process fun. Do your stack a favor and let Nan make it shine.”

I had the great privilege of working with Rona Maynard, the doyenne of the personal essay. I was so excited when she asked me to partner with her in a redesign of her newsletter.

I’ve been reading Rona every Sunday morning for almost a year, and I can tell you quite frankly that if you haven’t read her work, you’re missing something wonderful. I encourage you to visit Amazement Seeker and indulge yourself in her beautiful writing.

I read her with a writer’s eye, and I do believe that reading Rona is making subtle improvements and sometimes not so subtle improvements in the quality of my own writing. She’s a marvelous teacher.

Her writer’s voice has almost an old-world sensibility. She’s proper, yet funny, and sometimes irreverent. She’s serious and full of heart. You can tell when you read her that she chooses each word carefully, understanding that indeed, words matter most of all. Her appreciation for connection, for art, and for the little kindnesses that come our way in this human life we live make things stand out for me that I may have previously overlooked had Rona not held them up for inspection and savor.

She writes of small chance encounters that make a great impact. She writes of her love affair with her dog, Casey. Those of us who’ve been with her this last year, had the honor of witnessing her go through the loss of her beautiful four-legged friend. We worried with her as he ailed and are grieving with and for her at his loss. I know I am.

Rona is a writer’s writer. Her attention to detail, to craft, is without compare, and receiving her weekly essay on Sunday mornings feels like a gift. The only thing that comes close is the excitement I experience on those very same Sunday mornings when I get my hands on the latest New York Times Sunday Puzzle. You know that’s the highest praise, if you know me at all.

The Work:

I spend a fair amount of time getting to know my client. I want to see a slice of their lives, I want to know what they like, what they don’t. I ask a lot of questions and I’m a good listener. Everything informs the choices I make, and I always make them in concert with my client’s wishes. And often, I make suggestions that hadn’t occurred. I love the getting-to-know-you stages. Occasionally I will override a client’s desire if I know it doesn’t work. It’s always with their best interests at heart.

Rona’s newsletter is aptly named Amazement Seeker. She hadn’t yet made it look as amazing as it reads, save for her excellent curation of accompanying images for each essay she publishes.

We started at the beginning with a wordmark, the branded title in the heading of the web pages.

The Wordmark:

Based on a font used for her traditional website and professional logo, we decided it would be wise to be consistent across platforms. And Rona? Rona loves red!

Logo/Icon:

Before we started the branding work, Rona had a lovely photo of 3 apples in a water fountain on her Welcome page. She came upon those apples during Covid while walking outside one day. It’s a very sweet story. You should ask her about it; I’m sure she’d love to tell you. So, I asked her about apples, thinking it might be a nice choice for her logo/icon. Substack should really start calling it an icon, because it’s meant to cover three very important spots without a whole lot of flexibility. Because it shows up tiny in your web browser, very small as your “logo” on the site and in the app it’s quite small as well. There’s not a lot of room for detail. I always recommend that clients start thinking of this as a simple icon, something that pops, and yet becomes an anchor of recognition for a reader or follower. Hence, the apple! A powerful icon equated with curiosity, and a thirst for knowledge, for breaking some rules. You know what I’m referring to, yes? That lovely woman in that lovely garden so very long ago. An apple! Simple, clean, and recognizable. Rona.

Divider: I used Rona’s apple as the anchor for the divider below. Dividers are a great personalized option to replace Substack’s subtle gray default divider. The dividers come with a StyleYourStack package. It lends a lovely delicate touch.

Welcome Page:

And then, lucky me––because Rona has great photos––the Welcome page was a snap. We played with the end product a bit, and dealt with a small design pickle that was easily solved with some brainstorming and a little trial and error. This one is really fun! Such a winner. I love looking at it, and yes, that’s beautiful Casey in the middle. Now, I bet you can understand the black and red wordmark even better. We also decided to add it to the top of her About page. No one should miss it!

Email Banner: I combined Rona’s wordmark with the divider and created the email banner. It will brand every essay and email Rona sends out to her readers.

That’s the work! I had such a wonderful time on this one. Thank you, Rona Maynard, my Amazing Seeker!

Now, get on over to Amazement Seeker by subscribing right here:

If you need some inspiration, some great graphics that pop, and more creative ideas about looking your best on Substack, get in touch with me. I’m also teaching a Zoom Master Class in May 2025.