This is 10 Questions, an interview series where we get to know the designers from the directory a little better. Today, meet Baris Sehri! Baris is an award-winning designer from Istanbul now based in Athens, where he leads a small studio specializing in book cover and interior design, editorial illustration, and custom artwork. His work earned Best Book Cover of the Year in Turkey (Kayıp Rıhtım, 2021) and appeared twice in Sabitfikir’s Eye-catching 20 Book Covers of the Year list. Check out more of his work here.

1. Visually take us through your professional journey. Create a diagram that summarizes your career to date.

2. If you HAD to devote one day per week to a side hustle or creative pursuit, describe how you would spend that day. . .

Baris Sehri: I would like to work on my own comic book.

3. Tell me about someone from your past who played a role in you becoming the designer you are today. What did you learn from them?

Baris Sehri: My father, and my uncle.

My father used to travel and would come back with a book about a painter, for example, Van Gogh. He’d place the book in front of me and tell me to try drawing one of the paintings I liked from it. He also introduced me to comics and guided me on which books to read at different ages.

The first time I ever went to a movie theater was with my father. I still remember the film and what we did afterward. We stopped by a very old, historic patisserie to buy some candies. As we were leaving, I turned back to look at the movie poster. It was handmade! In the early ’90s, they still made them that way. The movie was The Bear (1988).

Then there’s my uncle, my father’s youngest brother. He’s also a graphic designer and photographer. We used to visit him when he was in university, and the three of us would go out to take photos together. I was around 11 or 12, using a Pentax camera to shoot street photography. I remember having endless conversations, and even some arguments, with my uncle about how I was going to become a better designer than him when I grew up!

4. What’s your ideal auditory environment while working?

5. Name one author you would love to design for before you retire.

Baris Sehri: Ursula Le Guin.

6. A designer once said “It’s not an art director’s job to make your Instagram grid look nice.” How do you balance creating a cover that has mass market appeal with creating something truly unique?

Baris Sehri: I don’t really think about those things. I just focus on the text I’m working on and try to connect with it emotionally.

7. What was one design challenge that seemed impossible at first? How did you overcome it, and what did you learn from the experience?

Baris Sehri: To be honest, I’ve never had this issue in my professional career, only back when I was a student. At first, I didn’t really know how to approach it, but I was lucky to have some great teachers who guided me.

My job is all about solving problems, so I don’t really get stressed about what I do. I actually have fun with it.

8. If you could commission a custom piece of art from any artist, dead or alive, and collaborate with them on a book cover, which artist would you choose and what genre would this hypothetical book be?

Baris Sehri: Mike Mignola. Gothic / supernatural horror. Weird fiction, dark fantasy, pulp sci-fi, melancholic folklore. Or, probably we may come up with something totally new!

9. Based on experience, what city stands out to you as the most inspiring place to visit if you are an artist?

Baris Sehri: I am shaped by Istanbul. I live somewhere else now, but Istanbul still lives in me. It’s the most magical place.

10. The INABC Exit Question. You’re at a party and you just told a stranger that you’re a book cover designer. What’s the most common response you get from people when they hear this? 

Baris Sehri: “That sounds very cool!”

For more Q&As from our pool of talented designers, explore the 10 Questions series page.
Special thanks to Amanda Hudson for creating the series’ blog post cover design.