In today's episode we speak with Greenleaf Book Group Design Supervisor, Chase Quarterman, about the art and strategy behind cover and interior designs that sell more books and make for the best reader experience.

1:13 - Why don’t you start by telling us a little bit about your background and what you do here at Greenleaf?

• I’m from Jackson, Mississippi. I have degrees in graphic design and advertising as well as master's degrees in both.
• I’ve worked in advertising and I’ve freelanced. I’m kind of an odd job, creatively speaking. Now I design covers and interiors for our authors at Greenleaf.

2:00 - Can you describe your cover design process?

• Every designer is different, but I start with sketches. If I start on the computer I get creative blockage, either getting married to things early on or stymied in some way.
• By sketching or looking at concepts, creating something with my hands rather than pixels, the ideation happens more organically.
• Once I have my sketches I develop the cover on the computer, which is where happy accidents like unexpected color combinations can happen and create an interesting option for a client.
• Ultimately, I show four covers to the author. Throughout the process I design at least thirty.

3:40 - What are some of the cover elements that are critical to make a book cover pop?

• The first thing we’re looking for is something genre appropriate. Fiction is more expressive and can be more experiment.
• Nonfiction should be more conservative and restrained, using negative or open space more frequently. Usually without crazy typography.
• The cover should be genre appropriate AND unique to the author.

6:20 - Why is interior design so important in a book?

• Authors often treat the cover as the hero and shrug at the interior, but the interior is the content.
• It's important for people to be able to relate to the content and read it without being distracted by it.
• The interior should relate to the cover. If there’s symbolism established on the cover, it should be relayed through the interior.
• People shouldn’t have to think the type and its attributes. I always choose classic typefaces like Garamond, Baskerville, etc.
• Authors need to consider the layout and the typography of the interior because it’s their blood, sweat, and tears put into a concrete form.
• The front cover design is a first impression. The interior design is a long-term relationship.

9:35 - How do you come to an agreement when you’re working with someone who doesn’t have the same creative vision as you?

• You have to be diplomatic. In the initial conversation with the author, I get a sense of their vision for the cover. Does it need to reflect their brand? Do they have textures they use on their site?
• I prefer that authors have some kind of aesthetic vision. When authors mention that they’re open to giving me free rein, it becomes a guessing game. I create things and they have opinions afterwards. It’s best for them to have a general idea going in so that they put up roadblocks for me to go in the right direction.

11:35 - Can you walk us through a few cover no-nos?

• We’ve already talked about genre appropriateness. Other no-nos would be wacky images that have nothing to do with the interiors, clashing typography, low contrast with typography, or weird novelty typefaces that were a free download.
• The biggest point is staying true to the content. If the interior is humorous, don’t design something serious.
• You also don’t want a forgettable cover. In nonfiction and business, you don’t want to be so restrained that it’s forgettable. You want it to burn in the brain.

14:30 True or false: when it comes to cover design, less is more.

• True and false, but mostly true. Minimalism is a popular theme, and people can go too far into it. That said, If there’s dead space designers tend to want to do something, but it’s not always a good idea, either.
• More can be good if you’re trying to show a lot of detail and emphasize one small piece of it.

About Chase

---

Chase is an experienced, multidisciplinary designer with a background that includes art direction, layout design, illustration, font design, animation, and branding. At Greenleaf, he is dedicated to working with authors to achieve their literary visions through quality book design. Chase holds a BS in graphic design from Mississippi College, an MA in advertising from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MFA in communication design from Texas State University. In his spare time he paints, collects art/design books (500 and counting), and teaches a graphic design course at UT Austin.