How Do You Design a Book Cover?

A roundtable discussion with the design department of Catapult books.

Have you always wanted a career in publishing? Do you already have a career in publishing but are curious about how other companies function? Over the next few months, we’ll be sharing roundtable discussions with full-time Catapult staff members from various departments. This conversation is a discussion with Catapult’s full-time design department: creative director Nicole Caputo (NC) and designers Dana Li (DL) and Lexi Earle (LE).

We hope you enjoy learning more about how the design team functions at Catapult, how they each became designers, and their recommendations for breaking into the industry.

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What has your professional journey been like, and how did you arrive at design?

NC: I was a reader from a young age and was always surrounded by books. My mother and father really supported and encouraged my creativity. I was also introduced to computers and software to create with at a very young age by my father. During my early education, I was engaged more in fine arts: excelling in photography, illustration, sculpture, and creative writing. Later on, I decided to interview for placement at the School of Visual Arts with the hope of combining fine art and computers. It was the admissions person I met with at SVA who saw something in my work and suggested I be admitted to the graphic design department instead of the computer art department. I studied under some incredible artists and graphic designers there like Paul Sahre, James Victore, Frank Young, and Genevieve Williams. Cover design felt like the perfect canvas where I could be guided by strong conceptual parameters while also having a great amount of creative freedom. Against the advice of my instructors to have a more well-rounded portfolio of different types of design projects, mine was made up of artist’s books I had written, illustrated, silkscreened, sewn, and hand-bound, along with various cover-design projects. I landed a job at Hearst Magazines working in their creative-services department. From there, I was hired as a junior designer by an indie publisher that, at the time, had an imprint called Counterpoint Press. I was working on book covers almost immediately (I begged), and within a year and a half, after a couple of promotions, I was made art director of Counterpoint Press. I was completely enamored with cover design and lived, ate, and breathed design. Counterpoint was later sold and I was made vice president creative director of the entire group of imprints we published. Counterpoint Press was acquired by Hachette Book Group, where I worked for a few years. After meeting Andy Hunter at BookExpo America, I came to work at Catapult.

DL: I went to school for art history and comparative literature, so design was a bit of a pivot! I’ve always really enjoyed design and reading and thought book-cover design would be the perfect intersection between those two interests. I was fortunate enough to have a few design internships under my belt before trying to break into publishing (generally in the marketing sphere), and then even more fortunate when I landed a design-assistant position in one of Penguin Random House’s children books departments. I designed covers for middle-grade and young adult fiction for five years before coming to Catapult, where I have been for the past two years.

LE: I’ve always had a deep love of books and reading. I remember hiding behind a book at certain points in my life when I wasn’t sure what to do and finding comfort in books being there for me. Over a decade ago, I took a three-week bookmaking Maymester class at a community college. It was one of my favorite experiences. After that, I knew I wanted to pursue something related to books and design but didn’t land in publishing until several years later. In school, I had a very print-heavy portfolio, so someone who reviewed it suggested I pursue publishing and connected me with my former boss. I worked at St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur (imprints of Macmillan) for three years before working at Catapult/Counterpoint/Soft Skull Press. Throughout my professional career, I have volunteered with TypeThursday, offered portfolio reviews with Ladies Wine Design, attended different design events, and taken continuing education classes in type design—all of which have made me feel involved in the design community and have evolved my skills as a designer. I met Nicole, whose work I admired, at a She Designs Books event. When a position at Catapult/Counterpoint/Soft Skull Press opened, I reached out and mentioned how much I’d love to work on their books and have Nicole as an art director. I have really benefited from being inspired by the work of my department and the books the rest of the company produces.

What’s your specific position at Catapult? Can you give us a general overview of your position and/or describe what a standard workweek looks like?

NC: I am the creative director of our three imprints: Catapult, Counterpoint, and Soft Skull. A typical week is a great mix of reading, concepting, sketching, crafting, designing, and illustrating my own designs for each of our imprint’s book lists. As an art director, I spend time selecting and assigning projects, art directing our talented art department and freelancers (whom I select and hire), and discussing our designs with the other department heads before they are sent off to the authors. My job also includes some budgeting and administrative work, attending various meetings throughout the week, and overseeing all of our mechanicals, licensing, and other special projects. It’s also important to me to mentor staff here at Catapult and others in the field or who are looking to enter.

DL: I am a designer here at Catapult. The bulk of my duties include designing book covers, creating mechanicals (which include the flaps, spine, and back cover of a book), and preparing covers for print, along with some logistical work like processing invoices and licensing stock imagery.

LE: My position is designer. I have a range of different responsibilities, which include reading, concepting, executing book-cover and mechanical designs, and preparing files to be sent to the printer. I also source and license images for use, along with some administrative duties.

I remember hiding behind a book at certain points in my life when I wasn’t sure what to do  and finding comfort in books being there for me.

Can you take us through your design process, starting with where you go for inspiration when beginning a new project?

NC: My inspiration comes from the manuscripts. I am a careful reader, and during that process I mark sections or lines that move me, that seem like they could translate well visually, and that portray the overall mood and central concepts of the text. The cover memo, which the editorial teams puts together for us, is also a tool that is used during the design process. It outlines generally how we as a team may want to position this book, any easter eggs within the text, overarching ideas that are important to the author, the inspiration behind the title, etc. Depending on the book, the next part of the process could involve some sketching and research based upon the book content, followed by photo, type, and art research or illustration work. I will usually set my typography last. The book-design process also sometimes involves working on several projects at a time. I enjoy that overlapping and pausing between projects to think about concepts and let things in my surrounding life inspire solutions. In this way, design really becomes a way of life.

DL: Like Nicole, I always start by mining the manuscript and cover memo for interesting visuals and themes. Once I’ve pulled sections from the text that can be used as launching points, I’ll often start roughly sketching out concepts using pen and paper to make sure I have some sort of blueprint before really starting the design work (though my sketches very rarely resemble the finished product!). I’ll typically then turn to stock-imagery sites, Pinterest, and my personal collection of design books for imagery and color palettes. In general, though, I tend to stockpile visual inspiration from everywhere: movies, art exhibitions, my neighborhood, etc. I try to be as spongelike as possible and move around the world with as much curiosity as possible.

LE: My design process also starts with the cover memo and manuscript. I’ll read the material while highlighting passages with strong visuals and phrases that indicate a mood, sense of place, or key theme—as well as anything that jumps out at me. While reading, I write down brief ideas or words that come to mind, along with everything that needs to be on the cover. Then I begin thumbnailing (drawing small loose ideas on the page). Early on in my design process, I’ll start laying out type so that when I introduce imagery, I am starting with more than a blank page. I also make a mood board out of a collage of images that I think are relevant to the book: visuals that set the tone, other books that exist in a similar world, and media the book has inspired. There’s often a good range of stuff on there. I’ve had a mood board of music video stills and movie-title sequences that captured a book’s mood well—so inspiration comes from everywhere. The mood boards often help with concepting and creating a visual language. From there, depending on the project, I will start illustrating or downloading stock images that fit my ideas and eventually combine type with those images.

I enjoy that overlapping and pausing between projects to think about concepts and let things in my surrounding life inspire solutions. 

What does the book-design timeline look like? At what points in the process do you interact with other departments?

DL: I find that it really varies! Generally speaking, I’m given around a week to complete a round of four to five cover options for each title, then pass it along to my creative director, Nicole. She shares the cover options with various stakeholders; then feedback is collected and bounced back to me. This is repeated until a cover is approved. Nicole facilitates all communication between our department and others, so I’ll let her speak to what this process looks like!

LE: I will get an assignment from Nicole, including a cover memo and manuscript, as well as a request to see comps in about a week (“comps” is short for “composite layouts,” which are page layouts of the proposed designs). If those are good, she will show it to stakeholders in the company. If everyone likes the same option, it can be approved and sent to the author, but often there will be ideas on how to improve the design and revisions will be made until we land on something that works for everybody. The author has final approval, and we always want to be sure the cover is something we are all happy with.

NC: Shortly after the season list is announced (which is a mostly final list of the books we’ll be publishing in fall and spring), I will start receiving the cover memos and other reading material about each forthcoming title. I read through that material to get a sense of each book so I can then assign each title to the designer who I feel is best suited to it and select the projects I will be designing myself. From there, deadlines are provided. Once the designs come in, I select the strongest options, provide any additional art direction needed, and request edits to prepare the covers to be shown to the stakeholders who weigh in on our covers. After that, the covers are shared with the publisher, editor, and heads of publicity and marketing. Feedback is collected, and I, the editor, and our publisher decide upon what we as a group feel strongly about—whether we have one design that really shines or perhaps a small selection to share with the author. The actual timeline from start to finish varies depending on the project.

What design tools, digital or analog, do you use the most, and how do you use them?

DL: It really varies depending on the cover project! I’ve been relying a lot on my iPad for illustration and hand-lettering. The Procreate app has a bunch of different brushes, so I’m able to switch between styles quite easily, which is nice. I love a good crafting challenge and enjoy using analog materials whenever I can—my X-Acto knife and stock paper have become quite handy in the past. Ultimately, though, everything I do ends up back in Photoshop, where I compile and edit all of my designs.

LE: I always start out with a pen and paper. After writing down cover details and thumbnailing, I draw a small rectangle representing the cover with a rough version of my design ideas. Then I move the drawing into my computer. I primarily use Photoshop and InDesign as digital tools, often testing out type layouts in InDesign first to see how they work with images. I also occasionally use an iPad for screen mirroring and illustration. Other tools I use are a printer, a scanner, watercolors, and a marker or brush pen for lettering. I’ve even tried torn paper or other types of media when it fit the book. My materials will often be driven by the concept I am pursuing.

NC: My tool kit consists of many of the items mentioned by both Dana and Lexi. My most used tools are Photoshop, a scanner, vellum paper, marker paper, and India ink with a selection of brushes for hand-lettering and illustration that I will then color digitally. I also use Tombow brush-pens for lettering. My illustration work is created by hand using ink, charcoal, oils, conte crayons, etc., or by iPad, and is often digitally manipulated in some way. I also like to have a nice broad workspace tabletop, whether in my office or on the porch, with some sunlight and some wildlife outside the windows—and quiet, comfortable nooks for focused reading.

I try to be as spongelike as possible and move around the world with as much curiosity as possible.

What would you recommend for folks interested in breaking into the industry and book design as a career?

DL: Breaking into publishing can be really difficult. Know that any potential rejection isn’t personal or a reflection of your value! I’ve found online spaces like Blk + Brwn Book Designers and People of Color in Publishing really welcoming and great resources for job posts and general publishing knowledge if you identify as part of those communities. To get better acquainted with cover design, I highly recommend online publications like Spine magazine, The Casual Optimist, and Lit Hub’s design section, which observe design trends and publish write-ups by cover designers.

LE: I’ve found that going to events and being a part of a community has been beneficial and inspiring. In design, there are often in-person talks you can attend, or recordings of those talks you can watch, that will allow you to hear from working professionals about their processes. Most major cities have an American Institute of Graphic Arts, Ladies Wine and Design chapters, or meetups with other professionals that allow you to build a network or group of friends on the same path as you. A number of organizations do portfolio reviews as well, and it’s great to get someone’s eyes on your work. After the review, they might connect you with a publisher they think you’d fit with, and if not, you get more practice at showing your work. Submitting to design competitions like Grafis, Communication Arts, Type Directors Club, and PRINT magazine can be helpful too. If you win or get a merit honor, it is a line on your résumé that shows you are respected in your industry. Continuing ed classes are great too! A lot of institutions offer design classes that allow you to go to school outside of work hours and learn from inspiring people. It’s also wonderful to have a mentor, which is an area I have been fortunate in. If you are in school and you have a strong relationship with a teacher, take advantage of that opportunity and show them your work whenever you can. If there is someone you admire in the book-design industry, reach out and let them know. They might not be hiring, but they may know someone who is, or they could give you their opinion on your work.

NC: All of the above! Plus, I recommend reaching out to art directors you’d like to work with and designers whose work inspires you to request mentorship or a portfolio review. If your portfolio does not include books, I recommend purchasing a few or taking some from the library, reading them closely, creating some cover designs, and sharing them as unpublished designs in your portfolio and even on your social platforms. Be prepared to talk about your decisions from the typeface selection to your art research and chosen artwork. This will give an idea of how you problem solve. Type skills are extremely important, so I’d recommend taking some type classes online if you do not have traditional design schooling.