Our second guest session of the season–and my thirty-fifth guest session in all–was such a visual treat! We haven’t ever had a cover design workshop before and I enjoyed this one, particularly as Isha Nagar, who conducted the session, designed two of my book covers (Fishbowl and Uncontrollable), both of which I love!
Through the course of an hour, Isha guided us through the process of redesigning covers for our favourite books. We began by writing down the main characters and theme of the story. Then, Isha explained the three essential elements of a book cover – title, the main illustration, and author name. She showed us multiple examples, demonstrating various design approaches from her own work as well as famous titles by other illustrators. She spoke about Fishbowl, The Ghost of Malabar, Banian Buddies, and several more. It was wonderful to see the range of covers she shared with us, from classics like The Tiger Who Came to Tea to funky covers like that of Loki.
She then took us through the process of design, beginning with thumbnail sketches, moving on to colour, and then lettering. She answered questions about how we can incorporate themes, characters, and visual elements effectively.
Right through, what I loved was that Isha focused on the creative process rather than strict rules. What a fun session it was!
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