Jason Arias – Designer

I'm a freelance cover designer and illustrator with previous experience working for Simon & Schuster's adult trade imprint, as well as Scribner and Avid Reader Press. I have experience working on bestselling memoirs, literary fiction, historical nonfiction, mystery, popular science, and self improvement. I aim to create covers that are striking at first glance, but convey the author's deeper themes on further inspection.

Select clients include: Bloomsbury, Google, HarperCollins, Harvard Business Review Press, The New York Times, Nonesuch Records, Pluto Press, Restless Books, Simon & Schuster, Timber Press, Verso Books, and W. W. Norton.

Design Process
—

Assessment:
You will provide the scenes and/or symbols that are the most ripe for visual depiction, and a selection of book cover inspiration that you feel encapsulates the look and feel of the cover you're envisioning. This will include the style of artwork, typography, and color scheme. Once we have all of these elements we will discern 1-3 different concepts to focus on and the desired art direction to take.

Round 1:
I typically create between 5-7 cover designs that vary in concept and aesthetic style. The first round of designs are usually delivered within 5 days.

Round 2:
You select your favorite cover from Round 1 and offer design edits, if necessary, to help bring it to a near-final stage. I will address all design edits and submit a new round of covers, typically within 5 days.

Round 3:
You will select a final cover from Round 2 and offer final adjustments, if necessary. I will submit a final design typically within 5 days.

Timelines:
Most projects are completed in 3 weeks. Projects on a shorter timeline are possible, but require a rush fee.

Deliverables:
This will depend on your specific requests, but most commonly I will send a package including:

— Print-ready PDF

— Hi-res cover JPG for eBooks

— InDesign package containing original layout and art files

— Mockups for marketing and social media promotion

Additional services:
— Marketing materials (print/digital advertisements, bookmarks, stickers, wallpapers, apparel, etc.)

*** Are you ready to work with a designer? ***

For printed books:

— Are you printing hardcover, paperback, or both

— The dimensions of your book(s)

— The company who will be printing your book(s)

— Spine width (determined by the page count of your designed book interior*)

— Jacket text (book description, review blurbs, author bio)

— Author photo

— ISBN and price (required to generate a barcode)

— Publisher logo (if applicable)

— A selection of book cover inspiration

*After your manuscript has been finalized, the interior of the book will need to be designed to the specifications of your book dimensions. The page count of your designed interior is then used to calculate the spine width.

For eBooks:

—Front cover copy (title, subtitle, author, quotes, etc.)

—A selection of book cover inspiration