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Interviews with Book Designers

The newest book season is upon us. In the coming weeks, New Rivers Press will be releasing six fabulous new books, varied in genre and tone, but nonetheless bursting with artistry and insight. Whereas much time and many pixels have been spent on this blog detailing the involvement of students in the production of our books as content editors, relatively little has been used to demonstrate the ways MSUM design students contribute to our books.

The Design Process

Each year, MSUM design students are paired up with an upcoming New Rivers Press release. The design process is largely a group effort: the design students are coached by NRP’s managing editor and their own design professor, in addition to being advised by the student editor team assigned to their book as well as the author. However it is up to the design students themselves to identify the most important and pertinent aspects of the books in order to bring to life a cover that is not only enticing to readers but representative of the author’s vision.

 

This post is meant to offer these students a mouth piece to describe their invaluable contributions as designers of not only the covers but interior layouts of our books. If you wish to learn more about the designers personally, you can read their bios here.

 

Phuriwat “Fuse” Chiraphisit
American Fiction Volume 16

American Fiction Volume 16 is a continuation of New Rivers Press’ long-running short-story anthology. Writers hail from all around the globe and are of diverse ages and backgrounds. There is no theme for submissions, though sometimes unique themes have a way of appearing once all the final stories are chosen. This years stories could loosely be tied together with themes of identity, family life, and evolving relationships.

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1) What was your vision for the cover you designed?
What stood out to me was how ordinary the lives in the stories are, with a twisted sense of reality hidden in there somewhere. So I thought I’d show a reality that is slightly twisted for the cover.

2) How did that vision change or evolve throughout the process?
After I had the initial concept, the challenge was finding the right imagery to support that concept. I was experimenting with reflections and shadows.

3) What elements from the book itself did you try to incorporate in your design?
The houses were added into the photograph to add a sense of family, livelihood, and domestic conflicts.

4) What was the most challenging aspect of the design process for you?
The most challenging part was finding a common theme between all the stories and representing them with a single image.

5) What was something you found rewarding about the process?
The most rewarding moment was receiving the unedited version of the real book. It’s always fun seeing designs and concepts come to life after working on them on the computer.

6) Is there anything special or hidden in the cover that you hope people notice?
If you stand back far enough, the cover may look like an old-fashioned book cover with tape binding, but as you get closer, you realize it’s a photograph, twisted, rotated, and yet oddly welcoming.

Brittany Shultz
Boy Into Panther

Boy Into Panther is a collection of fourteen short stories varied in theme, setting, and character. Each is filled with emotion and keen observations on the nature of being human.


1) What was your vision for the cover you designed?
My vision for the cover design was to keep it dark and mysterious so people would be more drawn to look closer to the cover while also wanting to read what it’s about.2) How did that vision change or evolve throughout the process?
I originally started with two different designs. One was a rustic design with a black background and a portion of wood along with dust particles. The other design that we went forward with was a simplistic modern design with a black background and specific pieces placed in chevrons leading into the book.3) What elements from the book itself did you try to incorporate in your design?
I included broken glass, flames, wood, and mushrooms.4) What was the most challenging aspect of the design process for you?
The most challenging part was to come up with a design that would try incorporate all of the short stories and not focus on just one main story.5) What was something you found rewarding about the process?
The whole process felt like a reward. Having the ability to design a cover of a great short story book for the first time was an amazing experience.6) Is there anything special or hidden in the cover that you hope people notice?
As mentioned above, the chevrons on the front cover are subtle, but when you look closely you can notice some of the details of the flames, mushroom, broken glass, and wood.

Emily Zaharia
Deep Calls to Deep

Deep Calls to Deep is a collection of poetry which intertwines family life and biblical narrative. Set against the rich backdrop of Israel, the collection draws from thousands of years of history from its ancient deserts to its contemporary scenes of war.

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1) What was your vision for the cover you designed?
I first researched images of Jerusalem, as that is where the poems take place for the most part. I compiled many images and gathered three primary colors that I saw in all of the photos. A deep blue, orange, and yellow. I used those colors to represent an over-simplified landscape of the setting; sky, city, and desert. While playing with the words in the title I noticed that [the word] ‘deep’ is basically the same flipped upside down, which was really fun. That played off of the idea of alternatives and reality in the artist’s statement I was given.

2) How did that vision change or evolve throughout the process?
I had a strong idea from the start, but getting everything in the exact right place with the perfect colors took some time and development. I also had come up with other designs, and choosing one was part of the process

3) What elements from the book itself did you try to incorporate in your design?
I tried to include the setting of the book somehow, and I did so in a very simplistic way. I also used a texture to represent the desert.

4) What was the most challenging aspect of the design process for you?
The interior of the book was an interesting challenge for me. I learned a lot about setting type.

5) What was something you found rewarding about the process?
Being able to hold a book that I designed in my hands was the most rewarding. I also really enjoyed getting feedback from the author. It was great when she told me that the cover was representative of what she wanted.

6) Is there anything special or hidden in the cover that you hope people notice?
I hope people can understand that the cover is not just stripes, but a setting and a platform to start the poems with before you even open the book.

Kendal Christenson
Tom o’Vietnam

Tom o’Vietnam juxtaposes the life and times of a contemporary American veteran with the experiences of Shakespeare’s King Lear, communicated through a surreal, stream-of-consciousness narrative.

1) What was your vision for the cover you designed?
In the initial design stages I hoped to incorporate a signature style that I have been curating during my attendance at MSUM, a sketchy and grungy approach that has furthered my understanding of design. I wanted the cover to feel individualized to the main character, Tom.

2) How did that vision change or evolve throughout the process?
As I had been designing the book cover last school year, I had also been enrolled in an illustration class. Knowledge from the class furthered my confidence in illustration which shines through in my finalized book cover.

3) What elements from the book itself did you try to incorporate in your design?
I attempted to depict the sheer individualism of Tom himself through handwritten typography and sketches of symbolism throughout the book.

4) What was the most challenging aspect of the design process for you?
Time management! Seemingly always a weakness for myself . . .

5) What was something you found rewarding about the process?
I find it rewarding to say, as a student, I have published work in the world.

6) Is there anything special or hidden in the cover that you hope people notice?
On page 4 of the novel, Tom O’Vietnam, there appears to be an entire page of scribbles and somewhat illegible words, in actuality the typography says, “Freedom is Hell,” a haunting phrase embroidered into the back of Tom’s jacket.

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Mandi Wahl
Man of the House

This is a memoir containing short vignettes told in the first person detailing the thoughts and actions of a young boy in the 1950’s as he struggles to assume the mantle of ‘man of the house.’


1) What was your vision for the cover you designed?
My vision was to create a cover that would be meaningful to the stories inside the book as well as creating something that people would want to pick up on a shelf as they were walking by.

2) How did that vision change or evolve throughout the process?
I am very pleased with how the cover evolved through out the whole design process. The cover has special character to make it feel as if it came from a 50’s book chest. I could not be happier with how the cover turned out in the end!

3) What elements from the book itself did you try to incorporate in your design?
I incorporated the time period by making the cover look worn and gave it a look of an old book/newspaper from the 50’s. I also incorporated stamps which was from one of the most important stories in the book that I personally felt represented the lifestyle of the author back when he was a child telling these stories. It had more meaning to it, which is what I wanted for a cover.

4) What was the most challenging aspect of the design process for you?
The most challenging aspect was to visualize what all of this would be looking like when it was printed. There were so many specifications to follow and seeing a flat designing of something is very different from when you get to see it printed and in its true 3D form.

5) What was something you found rewarding about the process?
I have now designed a book for others to pick up and read! I can say, “My name is in the front cover of a book!” I think that is so cool!

6) Is there anything special or hidden in the cover that you hope people notice?
There is nothing hidden in the cover of my book. I hope people enjoy the cover as much as I do.

Christen Nagel
The Way She Told Her Story

The Way She Told Her Story is a collection of poetry beautifully blending natural imagery with the stories, culture, and legacies of Finnish immigrant women.

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1) What was your vision for the cover you designed?
My vision was to do my best to accurately portray what the book is about. This was a bit of a challenge since I didn’t know much about Finnish culture. The cover design I spent the most time on was an illustration I did based on the poem “The Way She Told Her Story,” which is also the name of the book. I did my best to research more about Finnish culture for ideas on any relevant graphics I could incorporate. I came across one symbol that seemed like a good fit and used that in another cover design.

2) How did that vision change or evolve throughout the process?
I ended up using the cover with the Finnish symbol. When the author reviewed it, she suggested a different symbol. I recreated the graphic and made a few other suggested revisions.

3) What elements from the book itself did you try to incorporate in your design?
I tried to incorporate graphics related to Finnish culture. I also used illustrations that I did based on photos of Finnish tapestries, which the author had sent me, for my chapter artwork. I used part of one of my chapter illustrations next to the author photo on the back cover.

4) What was the most challenging aspect of the design process for you?
I would say that the most challenging aspect was researching Finnish symbols. Since I didn’t have direct communication with the author, I spent time on Finnish forums trying to make sure that I wasn’t misusing any of the symbols.

5) What was something you found rewarding about the process?
I really like the book, so I’m glad I got to design it. Since it is poetry, I was able to be more creative with my design for the interior. I think designing the interior was my favorite part since the patterns on the Finnish tapestries that I referenced were really fun to work with.

6) Is there anything special or hidden in the cover that you hope people notice?
I just hope people recognize the symbol and that it gives them a good sense of what the book is about.

If you want to read more about our book designers, you can read their bios here.

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Tom o’Vietnam Cover Reveal

Bearing witness to the depths of eloquence and grief, anger and endurance, this upcoming release from Baron Wormser blends poetry, history, and dark wit. Coming November 10, 2017!

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AUTHOR BIO

Baron Wormser is the author of nine books of poetry and a poetry chapbook. He is the co-author of two books about teaching poetry and the author of a memoir along with a book of short stories and a novel. He teaches in the Fairfield University MFA program. He also is the Founding Director of Frost Place Converence on Poetry and Teaching in Franconia, New Hampshire. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He served as poet laureate of Maine from 2000 and 2005 and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of Maine at Augusta in 2005. You can visit his website at baronwormser.com.

COVER DESIGNER BIO

Kendal Christenson is an undergrad at Minnesota State University Moorhead studying Graphic Design, Graphic Communications, and Art. She enjoys her puppy, spending time on the lake, and sandwiches of the toasted variety. When she is not working or studying, Kendal can be found telling jokes that are not funny and conjuring up sassy designs.

PRAISE for Tom o’Vietnam

“Baron Wormser has done something important with Tom o’Vietnam in the way that he has identified and precisely embraced a stunningly particular historical moment we casually refer to as ‘Viet Nam,’ as if the name was not a country but a dark shroud of moral collapse that hangs over us still. More remarkably, he has constructed this narrative from the point of view of a combat soldier, fighting in the American War in Viet Nam. Somehow there is a deep legitimacy to this soldier’s story because Wormser has been excruciatingly precise in his consideration and use of details—what Hemingway called ‘getting the words right.’ Built into Tom o’Vietnam‘s narrative is a clever, bright and engaging analysis of King Lear that parallels the primary narrative in richly imaginative ways. Inventive, immodestly challenging more than a few literary fictive conventions, and sometimes even beautifully written, Tom o’Vietnam is, at the same time, in a class by itself and resonant of great works about Viet Nam that have come before.”

—Bruce Weigl, author of Song of Napalm: Poems and The Circle of Hanh: A Memoir

EXCERPT

Endless swearing, a hoarse, braying wind of words, a weary, scornful, bemused reply to a war, swearing at those who were there and those who were not, at the army and the enemy, at death and life: everything blasted, withered, and coated by the tongue of injury. The question behind each insult and mockery being: What in the vast scheme of motley doings conspired to put me here? How did speeches spoken by gasbags of every stripe over decades come to endanger my modest network of blood? And if I wanted to be here, in my arrogance, manhood, confusion, enthusiasm, stupidity, patriotism, I must swear all the more. Who could have known?
Out, dunghill!
Swearing about food, rain, heat, women, officers, and, most of all, each other, each of us in the same unpredictable predicament. Swears coupled with other swears, vicious adjectives meeting nasty
nouns: motherfucking shithead, goddamn asshole. Semi-swears, the ritual male abusing of male anatomy: you worthless little prick, the voice measured—a judgment—or light-hearted, oh, by the way. Long strings of swears blurring into one run-on, guttural frenzy. Or sometimes a simple “look, bitch,” which starts a few shoves, shoulder pushes, and glares, the saying that you are a woman—a low blow. Swears for what seems like no reason, your voice mysteriously alive, proclaiming you are here in this faraway hell where, even on a good, un-murderous day, you are pissed. A reason can be found, if you want to go looking, but a lot of grim bile is in us already. Though not always bilious, everyone was once an infant gurgling, burping, unaffected by the droppings of time, though I think of guys like Briggs or Stone, who probably by the age of two were waiting to get bigger so they could get to Vietnam and start shooting people. Someone kicked them down the stairs early, the war on the home front. Or without the proclamation of reason or motive, like the tattoos: born to be bad, born to lose, born a conniving, chip-on-the- shoulder bastard.
Bastardy base? Base?
Briggs bought it, to use the lexicon you adopt when you see much random death. There wasn’t a lot of him left either. He was what they call “remains.” That doesn’t matter, does it? Whether there’s 98 percent of you intact or 32 percent. No open casket for him, if you like an open casket, and a lot of people do, death looking sort of rosy and peaceful, a time-out after the end of time. It’s hard to make up for the missing 68 percent, though you never want to underestimate modern technology. I remember a lot of deaths, some miscellaneous, some not. Some I heard about second- and third- and fourth-hand as facts became legends but they still got inside me.
Did you hear? Dost thou know me

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Deep Calls to Deep Cover Reveal

Coming November 1, 2017 from Jane Medved: a spirit-filled collection of poems that moves seamlessly from the “smell of bones” to the firmament of the heavens.

 

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AUTHOR BIO

Jane Medved is the author of the poetry chapbook Olam, Shana, Nefish (Finishing Line Press, 2014). Her poems have appeared in such journals as Mudlark, Cimarron Review, Spoon River Poetry Review, and New American Writing. She is a graduate of the Shaindy Rudolph Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Bar Ilan University and the poetry editor of The Ilanot Review. A native of Chicago, Illinois, she has lived for the last twenty-five years in Jerusalem, Israel, where she currently teaches poetry at the WriteSpace Jerusalem studio.

 

COVER DESIGNER BIO

Emily Zaharia is a third-year graphic design student with minors in Studio Art and Advertising. She aspires to be a graphic designer at an ad agency when she graduates.

 

PRAISE for Deep Calls to Deep

“Jane Medved’s Deep Calls to Deep is a dazzling, kaleidoscopic exploration of the many ways that history—both global and personal—impacts our lives. We are immersed in Medved’s astonishing universes, peopled by Cleopatra, Herod, and magical, warrior women who birth language and carry the burden of lost children. Marked by war and loss, these poems are also reverent, beautiful, and defiant: a woman buried in honey for seven years continues to haunt her husband. A mother mourns her child at a graveyard where ‘boys blossom, box after box.’ With great agility and skill, Medved crafts ghazals, sonnets, and free verse poems that rouse us with sonic pleasures. ‘You are flammable,’ the author reminds us, and indeed, in Medved’s poetry, we are.”

—Hadara Bar-Nadav, author of Lullaby (with Exit Sign)

 

EXCERPT from “Story”

Once I tried to bake bread in the dirt. It hurt
my knees and the old women laughed.

They pointed to the lights across the Dead Sea
and said Go beg like Moses, if you love God so much.

Their prayers were as light as saddle bells.
They made hot water gush from the rocks.

But Moses got his own church, a whole valley
of haze and everything else that was promised.

In the end he covered his face and split
himself into words. A few of them are still lying

on the ground. I pick them up and carry them
across the Jordan in my mouth. They knock

against my teeth and try to get out. They want
to go home. So I sing to them about the walls

of Jericho falling while the gates are held up
by tiny bones. I say Don’t worry,

you won’t be buried like that. I will wash you
with my tongue. I will give you back your names.

I will place you on a clean white page
where things that never happened can be true.

 

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