David Ross was a writer in search of a metaphor.

A book was taking shape in his mind. It was informed by his work as a VUCA specialist, where he consulted to corporations and governments about strategies for dealing with issues that were Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous.

The book would warn that global crises – fires, floods, ecosystem collapse, pandemics – were likely to come faster and come worse in the years ahead. It was a plea for leaders to change their style in dealing with them: to forget alpha-male ‘command and control’ postures and instead try an approach that was more fluid and less linear.

But he knew his book wasn’t simply going to jump on the disaster-porn bandwagon. He needed a metaphor that wouldn’t undersell the scale of the challenges, but wouldn’t overwhelm the reader either.

We helped him to find the storm in his book. A heroic image, urging leaders to be resolute and willing to be flexible to survive. A logical argument presented with an emotional gut-punch.

It was also a metaphor that went beyond simply the title: it structured the book itself. Chapter titles spelled out a steadily darkening tempest – and then progressively lightened as solutions were described.

It was a delight to create the cover image and chapter pages, which blended stock photography with studio shots of scattered flour – the only thing that would give us the right dramatic texture for our storm clouds. A great excuse to get messily analogue in a pristine digital workflow.

Confronting the Storm went on to win a Nautilus Book Award; Best Title in Business, Leadership & Sustainability from Artisan Book Reviews; and attention from Sir David Attenborough and Jane Goodall.