This is 10 Questions, an interview series where we get to know the designers from the directory a little better. Today, meet Myunghee Kwon! Myunghee is a South Korean–born, New York–based graphic designer specializing in book cover design. As a senior designer at Bloomsbury Publishing, she creates striking covers and jackets and art directs illustrators to bring each project to life. See more of her beautiful 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. . .
Myunghee Kwon: I would go to either MoMA or Chelsea galleries to see the latest art exhibitions. Then I would go to an art studio to make something with my hands like pottery or wooden spoons.
3. Do you ever go through periods where you feel completely creatively tapped out? How do you refill your cup and then get back to work?
Myunghee Kwon: This connects to my answer #2. I try to stay away from my projects and spend time doing what I like to do that’s not work-related.
4. Will you buy a book that you’re dying to read even if you don’t fancy the cover?
Myunghee Kwon: No, not really. Even if I buy it, I’ll probably take the jacket off.
5. Do you use any tools besides the usual Adobe products? What are they!
Myunghee Kwon: My hands!
6. What’s one creative skill you wish you had time to pursue so that you could incorporate it into future designs?
Myunghee Kwon: I’d love to learn how to use 3D modeling programs.
7. 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?
Myunghee Kwon: Henri Matisse for a coming-of-age debut novel.
8. We all know that great covers get killed. How often does something you submit get chosen in the very first round, and how often do you have to go through multiple rounds before you get an approval?
Myunghee Kwon: I’d say 50/50. Half of them get approved right away. Others go through multiple rounds of revisions.
9. About how many times have you written “a novel” on a piece of paper and then scanned it?
Myunghee Kwon: As much time as possible to get it right!
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?
Myunghee Kwon: “OMG, I’ve never met a book cover designer before! Your job is so special!”
