Hello, folks, and welcome to January's POP Profile! This month, Jack Noel from Walker Books spared a few minutes to give us a wee insight into the life of a designer. Thanks, Jack!
How did you get into children's book publishing?
I was working as a freelance designer/illustrator doing occasional quite cool bits like album covers but mostly less-cool bits like corporate identity stuff. To work in children's books was my dream.
One day I wrote to my bestest two publishers - Walker Books and Nosy Crow - and asked if I could come and meet someone to talk design. Nothing happened. I'm not really sure what I expected. But then, about six months later, a junior position came up in the Fiction department at Walker. I applied and somehow ended up getting the job. I'm not entirely sure how. I was lucky.
How would you spend a typical day at work?
Each day is different, but not wildly so. Generally it's a mixed bag of the following:
emails
coffee
team catch-up
develop new cover ideas
meet illustrators
meet authors
custard creams
talk to editors
meeting
lunch
tea
emails
work on interiors
twitter
artworking
attend photoshoots
emails
What top two things do you love about your job?
1. Working in a team with talented designers and editors who all care about kids books etc. a lot
2. Ping pong Fridays
Which stories and/or illustration styles are catching your eye right now?
There has been a run of famous comedians writing for children of late. This is not a bad thing because famous comedians are cleverer and funnier than your average famous person, or at least that's the idea. Each one gets paired with an illustrator and is given a design that is thought to befit their comedy stylings. So David Walliams gets Tony Ross. Russell Brand gets Chris Riddell. David Baddiel gets Jim Field. I'd like to see Daniel Kitson have a go. He'd need someone obtuse and bearded to do his pictures, like himself.
Have you ever seen a book and thought "I wish I'd published that"?
I feel compelled to say Zoella, for the $$$. But my bestest books are the Mr Gum series, so I guess those really.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone looking to work in publishing, what would it be?
For both illustrators and designers, I'd say the same thing: make your folio as focused, as consistent and as relevant as possible. This will make it easier for people to imagine you working for them, and everyone likes it when things are easier.
Describe yourself in five words
Quiet
Mumbly
Good at computers
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