“Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. – Jessamyn West“
Hello All, welcome to the first review of my upcoming debut novel, today we have a discussion with Yasha Kothari who designed the book cover.
What was your initial reaction when you heard the Title of the Book?
It seemed like a book regaling tales from the corridors of corporate offices.
Did you find it meaningful, why or why not?
After hearing the author’s plan for the future books and having read the first one, the title is certainly justified.
What did you think of the writing style and content structure of the book?
Very easy to read and well-paced.
Which location in the book would you most like to visit and why?
USA as I’ve not been there yet.
How did the book make you feel? What emotions did it evoke?
The book paints a realistic picture of the world of ‘cubicles’, and although I envy the relationships and networks you can build here, I’m not cut from the same cloth. Going through the story just further reaffirmed my emotions about corporate life!
Which character did you most relate to and why?
This is a tough one as I usually find it very hard to relate to most people! There are bits and pieces of people that I can appreciate, tolerate, or detest. For example, Hridaan’s perseverance is admirable and aspirational.
Did the characters seem believable to you? Did they remind you of anyone you know?
Since I’m not from the engineering or corporate world, I don’t have any take on it as such. Yet, from all the stories I’ve heard from friends from the corporate world, the characters seem very real and believable.
As the book cover designer what is the process you follow?
First step is to read the summary and converse with the author about the story and their expectations. Get a feel of the aesthetics and purpose of the cover. Discuss potential directions. Bonus if you get to read a few key chapters that can shed more visual details that can be incorporated. For example, after reading the book, I changed the color and content of the post-it notes to match the ones in the story.
Second step is to research trends and styles and then discard them as I’ve found them to serve mostly aesthetic purposes, I then save research some images and colors that are in tandem with some of my initial ideas for the cover.
Then I do a rough sketch to make it come to life and then once I’ve blocked most elements I turn to my digital artboard and start making it. Once I’m satisfied with the concepts, I share them with the author and get feedback. I make the necessary changes and repeat this step until the client is satisfied with it.
Tell us more about yourself
Just a curious little girl, trying to figure out graphic design and life, one project at a time!
The book cover for – “9 to 5 Cubicle Tales” designed by Yasha Kothari
