Meet the team: Cherie Chapman
Tell us about yourself.
I'm the new Junior Designer for the Harper Fiction team. I enjoy going to the cinema, my next trip will be to see The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. I like to discuss movies and TV shows. I love to read books especially fantasy, horror and crime novels.
How did you get into book design?
I've known since a young age that I wanted to have a creative job but could never decide what. Once I got my hands on a book design project at university I knew it was one of the areas I definitely wanted to work in. When I graduated in 2010, I narrowed career choices down to two areas: packaging design and publishing. After experiencing both industries I knew for sure that publishing, preferably fiction, was where I wanted to be. My first design job was designing eBooks covers for Hodder & Stoughton and now I'm looking forward to a new adventure with HarperCollins.
What are you working on at the moment?
I've just started work on a few Harper Impulse and Voyager eBooks, one of them called 'The Ark' and I shall look forward to many more.
What are your favourite kinds of projects to work on?
I enjoy working on briefs which allow me to be open with the design and to come up with a strong idea. I like the graphic illustrative approach as I find it can be very simple yet striking.
Can you describe your process for designing a book cover?
I first sketch out a few ideas and think of how I can bring them further. If possible I'd like to find out as much as I can about the book to help me come up with an original design. Once I've narrowed down the solutions, I'll mock them up on the computer to get a feel for the layout and start putting all the elements together.
Do you have a favourite book and book cover?
My recent favourite is Red Rising, which is the first book in a trilogy. I've read the proof for the second book Golden Son, which was also very good. And I love the A Song of Ice and Fire series and The Strain trilogy. The TV shows are also worth checking out!
Currently, my favourite book covers are Lagoon and Smiler's Fair - just stunning!
Who are some of your design heroes?
My design hero is Saul Bass. I just love his work!
What's currently on your to-read list?
I'm currently reading Stephen Kings Revival. Next on my list is David Nicholls' Us.
Website / Twitter etc
I don't have an official website but I did create a Facebook page to display covers I have worked on. Feel free to have a look here.