The Children's Book Council's Early Career Committee (ECC) is dedicated to enriching the careers of those in their first five years in the children’s publishing industry, contributing to the vitality of the industry as a whole, and fostering literacy. Learn more

CBC logo
Facebook Twitter PinterestRSS Feed
Box Top
• More ECC News

Design 101 Discussion | May 19, 2015

by Eileen Savage

Design+101+Discussion

In April the ECC hosted an educational event featuring three art directors with a broad range of experience in children’s book design.

design 101 1Erin Fitzsimmons (Associate Art Director at HarperCollins) works mostly with young adult novels, and spoke about the different roles one can take on when creating a cover: artist, art director, and designer. She also took us through the creation of a cover from sketches and revisions to the final product.

design 101 2

Jennifer Kelly (Assistant Art Director at Penguin Young Readers) works predominantly with picture books and middle grade novels. She took us through the process of designing a picture book, showed examples of last-minute cover changes, and revealed an insider trick to help keep characters interesting page after page!

design 101 3
Marijka Kostiw (Art Director at Scholastic) also works primarily on picture books and middle grade novels. She focused on the many nonfiction picture books she has worked on throughout her career. Her presentation showcased the various ways to create a compelling, beautifully- illustrated story that is also historically accurate.

Stay tuned for our next continuing education event and watch the Design Discussion online!

Bottom rightBottom left