Domini Dragoone - Designer
Cover and interior designer with 20 years experience. I use passion and precision to create volumes readers love to spend time with.
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Overview
——PLEASE NOTE—— I am currently booked solid, but I will be available to start new design work about TWO MONTHS from the current date. If you have a long lead-time, I would absolutely love to speak with you about your needs for your book!!
I am a book cover and interior designer with twenty years of industry experience. I combine a passion for art history and classic elements with professionalism and precision to create books that are a pleasure for a reader to spend time with. In addition to my design talents, I offer my expertise as a publishing consultant to my authors, and act as a resource and production director while we work together. You and your manuscript will be in good hands,
I consider myself an interior design specialist and am adept at any style of book, from novels to technical non-fiction. I have a special interest in wrangling complex and sprawling interiors—no amount of footnotes or formatting is too much! I'm a quick worker, and a great choice for if you need a fast turn-around.
My experience: After spending 10 years as Senior Designer for Perseus Books Group (now Hachette), I transitioned to full time free-lancing about 8 years ago. I would love to bring my talents and expertise to your project! My passion for art, design, and making things with my hands led me to earn a BFA in Graphic Design from the Academy of Art University, where I supplemented my graphic design curriculum with courses including printmaking and calligraphy. Since then, I have worked in publishing, designing book covers and interior pages for over 400 unique titles, as well as taken full advantage of the vibrant arts and music culture my city offers to work in photography.
I am a book cover and interior designer with twenty years of industry experience. I combine a passion for art history and classic elements with professionalism and precision to create books that are a pleasure for a reader to spend time with. In addition to my design talents, I offer my expertise as a publishing consultant to my authors, and act as a resource and production director while we work together. You and your manuscript will be in good hands,
I consider myself an interior design specialist and am adept at any style of book, from novels to technical non-fiction. I have a special interest in wrangling complex and sprawling interiors—no amount of footnotes or formatting is too much! I'm a quick worker, and a great choice for if you need a fast turn-around.
My experience: After spending 10 years as Senior Designer for Perseus Books Group (now Hachette), I transitioned to full time free-lancing about 8 years ago. I would love to bring my talents and expertise to your project! My passion for art, design, and making things with my hands led me to earn a BFA in Graphic Design from the Academy of Art University, where I supplemented my graphic design curriculum with courses including printmaking and calligraphy. Since then, I have worked in publishing, designing book covers and interior pages for over 400 unique titles, as well as taken full advantage of the vibrant arts and music culture my city offers to work in photography.
Languages
English
Fiction
Anthologies
Historical Fiction
Literary Fiction
Mystery & Crime
Poetry
Short Story
Thriller & Suspense
Women's Fiction
Non-Fiction
Architecture
Art
Biographies & Memoirs
Design
Education & Reference
History
LGBTQ Non-Fiction
Photography
Travel
Certifications
- BFA in Graphic Design
Work experience
Freelance Book Cover and Interior Designer
Self-employed
August, 2004
–
Present
(over 17 years)
I specialize in drawing from my deep experience in publishing to help guide new and independent authors from manuscript to published book — I'm adept at working closely with my authors to serve as designer, and also project manager and industry resource.
My freelance work is primarily in publishing: designing book covers from concept to completion, designing book interiors, and all related production work (page layout, interior art management, mechanical prep). I'm also a pro at content architecture for manuals and other info-packed, multi-page documents.
I really enjoy the production side of design work - photo editing and manipulation (Photoshop), complex and detailed page layout (InDesign), working with vector illustrations and logos (Illustrator).
Other publishing clients include: Counterpoint Press, Soft Skull Press, Four Winds Press, Seal Press, Avalon Travel, Bibliomotion, LeafStorm Press, University of California Press, University of Windsor, Red Hill Publishing, and Rosetta Books.
Senior Designer
Perseus Books Group
January, 2005
–
December, 2014
(almost 10 years)
At Perseus, I worked on books produced under the Avalon Travel (Moon Handbooks travel guides, Road Trip USA) and Seal Press imprints. Key recent projects included the series re-design of the Moon Handbooks guidebooks, and the complete re-design and interior art overhaul of our Road Trip USA's 6th and 7th editions, as well as layout of all 900+ unique spreads.
Work for both Seal and Avalon included: book cover/full jacket design and mechanical production, interior page design and production on hundreds of books for Seal Press and Moon Handbooks, photo sourcing for covers (trade and travel), interior photo sourcing and coordination (dealing with permissions, copyright issues, stock sites, author submissions, outreach to private organizations), photo editing (re-touching, prep for print production).
I also worked closely with in-house editorial, cartography, marketing, and publicity departments on day-to-day book production; coordinated production needs with our authors (photo and art submissions, design issues); hired, art directed, and managed freelance designers for Seal titles; and worked efficiently with our book printers.
Production Assistant
William-Sonoma, Inc.
July, 2004
–
December, 2004
(5 months)
Worked on the Williams-Sonoma Home catalog. Management of all product photography and photo shoot images, file prep for designers, database management, text corrections and other file production, and assisted editors, producers, photographers, marketing, and the buyers on any task needed towards producing the catalog.
Designer, Production, & Comp Artist
Orange Avenue Children's Publishing
September, 2002
–
May, 2003
(8 months)
Book cover design and production, comp production for new projects, photography for covers and interiors, photo shoot art direction and styling, tech support, photo editing, illustration editing, package design, production for packaging mechanicals. Worked with all of shapes & sizes of books and book-like objects: boxes, trays, inserts, fold-outs, flash cards, etc.
Intern
One Heart Press
September, 2002
–
January, 2003
(4 months)
Helped staff and press operators with any task, learned how to operate the press, made photo-polymer plates, learned about letter press paper stock/variances, and all related letter press knowledge.
Intern
Primo Angeli:Fitch
July, 2000
–
September, 2001
(about 1 year)
Some packaging design work. Responsible for making comps of new/potential packages for client presentations. Digital photo editing in support of design staff. Responsible for documentation photos of the studio's work, and well as managing and digitizing the existing libraries. Assisted staff with small design and production tasks.
Graphic Designer
JC Graphics and Printing
February, 1999
–
June, 2000
(over 1 year)
All manner of graphic design and production: logos, post cards, flyers, menus, posters, brochures, etc., for a wide range of clients (large tech companies, restaurant and hotel chains, individual business owners). Learned from the on-site high-volume press operators (offset lithography) about the nuts and bolts of production and making files press-ready.
Domini has 29 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
I knew Domini was the designer for me at the first e-mail. Her response was helpful, honest and detailed. She was an amazing mentor for me in the process of self-publishing. The cover she produced was spot on, clearly reflected the novel within. She estimated the work effectively (both cost & elapsed time) and we even finished early, which allowed me to publish earlier than expected. She i...
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Barbara Seith, December 2021
Reply from Domini Dragoone
I was impressed by Domini's portfolio and the reviews her customers left, but I was touched by her enthusiasm for my novel. I was floored when she read my novel and sent me numerous cover designs to choose from. I was blown away by the actual cover AND her typography. 💥
Domini knows the publishing business and she will guide you through each step of this aspect of your novel. She has a gift and...
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Valerie Baeza, July 2021
Reply from Domini Dragoone
This is our second collab in the series, and I look forward to books 3 and 4! As someone who holds onto control with a death grip, it's hard to give over the interior formatting and all the little tweaks to another person, but Domini is a complete pro whose attention to detail and eye for design give the final product all the perfect touches I could hope for! Domini's unending patience and resp...
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Beth Greenberg, April 2021
Reply from Domini Dragoone
Domini was great! She did everything she said she would do, and more. I’m a first time author and, as you might imagine, I gave Domini a rather unpolished Word document. She turned it into a beautifully formatted book with an eye catching cover, and handled all the technical aspects of uploading it to Amazon and Ingramspark. Thank you, Domini! You were professional, on time, responsive, and ar...
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Jack Bodkin, February 2021
Reply from Domini Dragoone
AMAZING, my experience with Domini was such an eye opening experience of someone who knows and understands how a book needs to be professionally done. It was my first endeavor into doing my own photography book but she knew exactly what was needed and guided me through from start to finish. Anyone looking to work with an expert book designer, look no further.
Richard Silver, January 2021
Reply from Domini Dragoone
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