Katie Murphy – Designer

Hello. I specialise in the cover and interior design of non-fiction titles, with subjects ranging through current affairs, politics and economics, to memoir with a more personal touch.

I take a very collaborative approach to book design, working closely with the publisher/author to draw out the true character and personality of a title and to find a visual style to reflect that. In the search of the right cover imagery, I draw on my broad knowledge of the history or art and wider cultural references, and if necessary, can depend on my own versatile illustration skills to develop something new. Previous work to produce attractive packaging and effective marketing materials for small businesses feeds into my understanding of what makes covers engaging to draw in new readers. And, considering most time in spent within the pages, I take pride in developing appealing and apt interior design that offers a smooth reading experience.

After presenting various options, we’ll see a book's visual identity, outside and in, emerge through an interactive process of honing a chosen route. I respond positively to my clients' insights and feedback to visualise and make tangible a true distillation of their book. As a pro-active communicator, used to working remotely, I’m excellent at keeping in touch and will let you know what I am working on and when to expect updates.

If you have a project that you would like to discuss I'd be delighted to hear from you to find out more and to see how we can work together.

TESTIMONIALS

"I worked with Katie for nearly five years. We worked together as part of a small publishing team at Brixton Ink (now Bui Jones Books), producing high quality books with modest means. In a relatively short time, we managed to publish a dozen books, all quite different but all of exceptional quality. Naturally, in our industry, the cover design can make or break a title, and given what we achieved, Katie can take her share of the credit for it.

Beyond her work as a designer, she was a great colleague to work with. Always a team member and always ready to take the initiative or do more to make sure things flow smoothly. Indeed, Katie was a pleasure to work with and I couldn’t recommend her highly enough."

MINH BUI JONES - BUI JONES BOOKS

"Working with Katie has been an outstanding experience from start to finish. She brought my vision to life in a way that feels both authentic and elevated. Katie has an excellent knack of interpreting the brief and getting the tone and feel just right, translating ideas into something visually compelling and highly functional.

Katie is patient, responsive, and consistently went above and beyond to make sure everything was exactly right. The whole process felt collaborative and smooth.

I genuinely couldn’t recommend Katie more highly. If anyone is looking for someone who combines creativity, technical skill, and is lovely to deal with, look no further."

CELIA WYNDHAM - SUNBIRD PEOPLE