David Ter-Avanesyan

David Ter-Avanesyan – Designer

Exceedingly detail oriented and organized, with strong collaborative and interpersonal skills; highly dedicated, and reliable.

Overview

I am a creative book cover designer with over 20 years experience designing book covers for various publishers: Skyhorse Publishing, Union Square Publishing, Simon & Schuster, Inc., Schaffner Press, Island Press, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, University of Nevada Press, Dutton, She Writes Press, RosettaBooks, Prospect Park Books, St. Martin’s Press, Basic Books, McGraw-Hill as well as indie authors. I also design black and white interiors.

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits History Psychology True Crime
Fiction
Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Thriller & Suspense
Languages
English
Awards
  • PubWest Silver Design Award
  • Second Place Award, 31st Annual New York Book Show
  • PRINT Magazine, Color Competitio
  • HOW Magazine International Design Annual, Merit Award

Work experience

Skyhorse Publishing

Feb, 2021 — Present
–Creating dynamic book covers. Job responsibilities: • work closely with editors to conceptualize and successfully design original and innovative book jackets that fulfill company’s high standards and reputation • design, prepare, color correct, and review printer proofs of jacket mechanicals

Sterling Publishing

Oct, 2013 — Aug, 2020 (almost 7 years)
–Creating dynamic book covers. Job responsibilities: • work closely with art director and editors to conceptualize and successfully design original and innovative book jackets that fulfill company’s high standards and reputation • design, prepare, color correct, and review printer proofs of jacket mechanicals

Self-employed

Jan, 2005 — Present

Simon and Schuster

Jun, 2002 — Jun, 2013 (about 11 years)
Advanced from intern to senior-level designer, creating dynamic book covers two of which were award winning featured in prestigious design magazines. Job responsibilities: • successfully designed and redesigned original book jackets for all imprints • art directed photoshoots and acted as immediate contact with photographers and illustrators • designed, prepared, color corrected, and reviewed printer proofs of jacket mechanicals • worked closely with art directors and editors to conceptualize and produce innovative designs that fulfill company’s high standards and reputation • stayed up to date with publishing industry advancements in order to improve efficiency and creativity • offered support to other coworkers as needed

Portfolio

Made with Reedsy
Letters on The Wall

jones, haley

89814

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Ferry Pilot: Nine Lives Over the North Atlantic

McCauley, Kerry

Kerry McCauley

Cover Design
Made with Reedsy
Inside "Putin's Brain": The Political Philosophy of Alexander Dugin

Millerman, Michael

Independently published

Cover Design
Made with Reedsy
Damaged People: Narcissism and the Foundation of a Dysfunctional American Society

Avant, Thomas

Thomas Avant Publishing

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
In Pursuit of Liberty: Notes of an Immigrant

Gutman, Zinovy

Zinovy Gutman

Cover Design
Made with Reedsy
Phoenix Rising, Lemuria Down

Drought, Rod

Droughtsthirst

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
The Surrogate is Home

Brown, K.A.

Independently published

Cover Design
All In: The Spread of Gambling in Twentieth-Century United States (Gambling Studies Series)

Gambling, the risky enterprise of chance, is one of America’s favorite pastimes. Office March Madness brackets, a day at the race track, a friendly wager, the random ridiculous Super Bowl prop... read more
Cover Design
Daditude: The Joys & Absurdities of Modern Fatherhood

Chris Erskine

Life is never peaceful in Chris Erskine's house, what with the four kids, 300-pound beagle, chronically leaky roof, and long-suffering wife, Posh. And that's exactly the way he likes it, excep... read more
Cover Design
The Whole of the Moon: A Novel

Brian Rogers

The Whole of the Moon consists of six crisscrossing narratives set along the old Route 66, from the Inland Empire to the terminus just off Sunset Boulevard. The stories span the years from the... read more
Cover Design
The New York Times Book of Crime: More Than 166 Years of Covering the Beat

From the archives of The New York Times, 165 years of the most notorious real-life crimes. For 166 years, The New York Times has been a rich source of information about crime, its reporters ra... read more
Cover Design
Mothers and Other Strangers

Gina Sorell

"My father proposed to my mother at gunpoint when she was nineteen, and knowing that she was already pregnant with a dead man’s child, she accepted."Thus begins this riveting story of a woman'... read more
Cover Design
The Scientology Murders: A Dead Detective Novel

William Heffernan

"Many readers will enjoy the peek inside the organization's hierarchy. Also enjoyable is the spirited romance between Doyle and Vicky Stanopolis, his partner in more ways than one. And the sur... read more
Cover Design
Alexander Hamilton: The Illustrated Biography

Richard Sylla

Find out who lived and who died in the incredible story of the founding father who made America modern—and became the toast of Broadway. This richly illustrated biography portrays Alexander Ha... read more
Cover Design
Naughtier than Nice

Eric Jerome Dickey

New York Times bestseller Eric Jerome Dickey revisits the scene of his holiday romp Naughty or Nice, featuring the McBroom sisters, whose romantic adventures make for a white (hot) Christmas. ... read more
Cover Design
South Haven

Hirsh Sawhney

"A vivid portrait of second-generation immigrants living in suburban New England...Sawhney is pitch-perfect when describing the uneasy relationship between adolescents and their parents...Ther... read more
Cover Design
Love Maps

Eliza Factor

"Powerfully written....Factor reveals this arresting tale through solid character development and a well-paced narrative. From its tense opening chapter to its memorable conclusion, this is a ... read more
Cover Design
After Abel and Other Stories

Michal Lemberger

Finalist, 2015 National Jewish Book AwardHonorable Mention, Sophie Brody Medal, American Library AssociationOne of the Jewish Book Council's "15 fiction books that shaped Jewish literature in ... read more
Cover Design
Crash and Burn

Artie Lange

Veteran comedian Artie Lange turns an unflinching eye and his signature wit on his perilous descent into drug addiction, life-threatening depression, and ultimately, his recovery, in the follo... read more
Cover Design
Target Churchill

Warren Adler

As Great Britain and the United States celebrate a victorious end to WWII, Joseph Stalin’s relentless Soviet Union is creeping across Eastern Europe leaving a trail of devastation and murder i... read more
Cover Design

David has 93 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Theresa C.

Theresa C.

Apr, 2024

Pinned
It's hard to describe what we want to sum up about David. He was so responsive to everything we needed to capture in our book cover. It was a very complicated story and it was hard to decide on the correct artistic version to best represent our cover. David gave us almost immediately (in probably...
Read more
David T.
Thank you Theresa! Can't wait to see the finished product!
Ganpy N.

Ganpy N.

Nov, 2023

Pinned
David has been outstanding from the moment we agreed to work together. Patient to receive input and feedback and be honest about sharing his design opinions. He is a thorough professional whose quality of work is absolutely outstanding. I am more than satisfied and will work with him again.
David T.
Thank you Ganpy for a beautiful review. You were so awesome to work with.
Brian C.

Brian C.

Nov, 2023

Pinned
David was quick, responsive, original and although I had very fixed ideas as to how the cover should look, he came up with a design that I would never have thought of. His ideas were interesting and left me with plenty of options to choose from. He incorporated a couple of modifications I suggest...
Read more
David T.
Thank you so much for such a great review! I really enjoyed working with you and I love the cover as it came out!
darren C.

darren C.

Dec, 2025

David was a genuinely strong partner on my cover for No One Planned This: How Platforms Rewired Entertainment. He took a pretty abstract brief and turned it into a design that feels smart, contemporary, and on-genre. His typography and layout choices were thoughtful, he explained his reasoning wh...
Read more
Calvin W.

Calvin W.

Dec, 2025

Working with Davd was great. He made the process of designing and selecting a book cover very easy. I explained to him what I was looking for in a book cover, and a few days later I had 4/5 fantastic options to choose from. He was professional, understanding and very patient with me throughout t...
Read more
David T.
Thank you Calvin. I am glad to help you.

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