Jonathan Sainsbury

Jonathan Sainsbury – Designer

Provide same quality as I do for trade publishers at lower rates. I want your book to succeed in a saturated market. Let's work together!

Overview

An award-winning graphic designer with many years experience specializing in book cover design. Client list includes Atria Books, Da Capo Press, Diversion Books, Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, Harry N. Abrams, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Knopf, Pantheon, Pegasus Books, Penguin Random House, Picador, Shambhala Publications, Simon and Schuster, Smithsonian Books, St. Martins Press, VeloPress, and W. W. Norton. He has designed CD booklets, film posters, identities, branding, logos, social media marketing, and more.

My work has been in many prestigious publications, including COMMUNICATION ARTS, HOW magazine, PRINT magazine, among significant design blogs such as The Casual Optimist.

Awards include:

• AIGA 50 / 50 Covers

• Association of University Presses

• Bookbuilders of Boston's New England Book Show

• Communication Arts

• HOW International Design

• National Gold Ink Awards

• New York Book Show

• PRINT Regional Design

• Publishing Professionals Network

• STEP Design Magazine

• Type Director's Club

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs History Sports & Outdoors True Crime
Fiction
Historical Fiction Historical Mysteries Literary Fiction Psychological Thriller
Languages
English
Awards
  • AIGA 50 Books / 50 Covers
  • PRINT Magazine Design Annual
  • Annual Academic University Press Book Show
  • Annual New York Book Show - Best Covers
  • Publishing Professionals Network (AKA Bookbuilders West)
  • National Gold Ink Award - Pewter
  • New England Book Show - Best Nonfition Book Award
Certifications
  • MFA, Boston School of the Museum of Fine Arts
  • Member of Connecticut Art Directors Club
  • Past member of the Type Director's Club, AIGA NY, AIGA Boston

Work experience

Diversion Books, NYC

Nov, 2021 — Present
Freelance Art Director focused on a wide range of categories of book covers.

Self-employed

May, 1998 — Present
A design studio specializing in book jacket and book interior design.

Da Capo Press / Lifelong Books — Perseus Books Group / Hachette Int'l

Aug, 2010 — Feb, 2016 (over 5 years)
Worked with international personalities (actors, musicians, comedians, and chefs), arranged and directed photoshoots, which included hiring photographers, stylists, and managing budgets. Other areas of my work at Da Capo are music, history, memoirs, biographies, lifestyle titles that include cookbooks, diet, fitness, and relationships.

Pantheon and Schocken Books [Knopf Group / Random House]

May, 2007 — Mar, 2009 (almost 2 years)
Designed award-winning book jackets. Managed all aspects of the imprint. Hired and directed designers, illustrators, photographers, and researchers. Worked directly with international level authors, executive editors, and publishers, Sonny Mehta and Janice Goldklang.

Portfolio

Salmonella Men on Planet Porno: Stories

Yasutaka Tsutsui

This collection of marvelously off-kilter short stories – the American debut of acclaimed Japanese writer Yasutaka Tsutsui – portrays the consequences of a world where the fantastic and the mu... read more
Cover Design
Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History

S. C. Gwynne

In the tradition of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a stunningly vivid historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, ... read more
Cover Design
The Song and the Silence: A Story about Family, Race, and What Was Revealed in a Small Town in the Mississippi Delta While Searching for Booker Wright

Yvette Johnson

In this “beautiful, evocative” (Booklist, starred review) memoir, Yvette Johnson travels to the Mississippi Delta to uncover the moving, true story of her late grandfather Booker Wright, whose... read more
Cover Design
My Father and Atticus Finch: A Lawyer's Fight for Justice in 1930s Alabama

Joseph Madison Beck

The story of Foster Beck, the author’s late father, whose defense of a black man accused of rape in 1930s Alabama foreshadowed the trial at the heart of To Kill a Mockingbird.As a child, Josep... read more
Cover Design
Is This the Real Life?: The Untold Story of Freddie Mercury and Queen

Mark Blake

Queen's success in the 1970s was accompanied by a taste for musical and non-musical excess. Is This the Real Life? draws on eyewitness testimonies--former producers and managers, ex-girlfriend... read more
Cover Design
The Adventure of the Missing Detective: And 19 of the Year's Finest Crime and Myster: Plus complete coverage of the year in mystery and crime fiction (Year's Finest Crime & Mystery Stories)

From traditional mystery stories with devious doings and a plot full of clues to terse thrillers with edge-of-the-seat climaxes to the nail-biting tale of psychological suspense, no field of p... read more
Cover Design
The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition: A Cutting-Edge Plan to Fuel Your Body Beyond ""the Wall""

Matt Fitzgerald

Every year, roughly 2 million people participate in marathons and half marathons in the United States, and, no matter what level they are, every one of these runners has likely hit “The Wall,”... read more
Cover Design
The Fate of Katherine Carr by Thomas H. Cook (2009-06-23)

Cover Design
Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted (A Merloyd Lawrence Book)

Justin Martin

Frederick Law Olmsted is arguably the most important historical figure that the average American knows the least about. Best remembered for his landscape architecture, from New York's Central ... read more
Cover Design
Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk

John Doe

Under the Big Black Sun explores the nascent Los Angeles punk rock movement and its evolution to hardcore punk as it's never been told before. John Doe of the legendary band X and co-author To... read more
Cover Design

Jonathan has 59 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

jordon S.

jordon S.

May, 2024

Pinned
Excellent experience. Jonathan offered suggestions, accepted feedback, and produced three beautiful covers for us to consider. He was patient given some unique administrative requirements inherent in working with a government entity. Highly recommend. Outstanding designer and teammate. I high...
Read more
Jonathan S.
Thank you, Jordon. I’m glad you and those at the Press are pleased with the resulting cover.
Janice R.

Janice R.

Mar, 2024

Pinned
Jonathan has been and still is the professional that I'll always want to work with. He produced a terrific looking product on the first try in a flash. We're still working on the proofreading and all, but I'm very impressed with what he did. I hadn't published a book in years, and the last time I...
Read more
Jonathan S.
Thank you for such kind words.
Jonathan B.

Jonathan B.

Oct, 2025

Exceptionally good work, very artful, and very fairly priced.
Greg E.

Greg E.

Aug, 2025

Jonathan produced a cover design exceeding my expectations on just the very first iteration. He fulfilled his commitment to deliver three choices within the schedule he had committed. He accepted a suggested change to one of the three covers and when received I accepted it immediately. I surve...
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Jonathan S.
Thank you, Greg. I'm glad to have provided a cover that you're happy about for your book about your father and his achievements. I offered a lower rate than my standard due my assessment of the wo...
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Warren B.

Warren B.

Jul, 2025

Collaborating with Jonathan was a pleasure. He invested time into understanding my project, read my manuscript, and provided meaningful input on honing my vision. I love my final book cover and cannot wait to share it with the world when my novel is published this November. If he is available and...
Read more
Jonathan S.
Very glad you're happy with the maps and cover. Maps are really my thing. I overthought the historical details. Thank you for your patience. Would enjoy reading what happens next with your storylin...
Read more

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