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Interview - Hayley Warnham

Here are some of the questions and answers from the interview:

Do you use references? And if so, where do you find them and how would you use them?
"I love to use Pinterest and create mood boards. Sometimes it can be a bit visually overwhelming, but if I’m stuck at a dead-end, it’s a great place to source inspiration."

How do you decide how detailed or minimalistic the design of the cover should be?
"That all depends on the book, but I always feel less is more. If you can say it with a smart concept, then there’s no need to overcomplicate things."

Do you keep in mind where the text would be before designing the cover? Or do you design the cover first, then fit in the text after?
"The text and image should be working together on a book cover, so I usually loosely drop the text in to get a sense of composition and then experiment with the image and typography. There might be a hefty subtitle etc, so you need to establish this early on."

How important do you think text is?
"In book design, it’s very important. It’s the editor's job to make sure the title/subtitle is strong and conveys the topic. Fiction books tend to be a bit more abstract, but at the end of the day, our job is to make it work well visually."

How do you think the font, size and placement of the text can affect the overall book cover?
"I think in this day and age, the buyers are viewing books in all types of ways. Whether it be on a shelf or a tiny thumbnail on Amazon. Therefore, it’s important to consider whether it will be legible at all formats."

Do you think textures can affect the mood/atmosphere of a book cover?
"On an illustrated cover, I much prefer if there’s some texture - even if it’s subtle. But again, it’s dependent on the style."