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Catherine Casalino

Creative Director, Book Cover Designer

Catherine Casalino is the principal and creative director of Casalino Design, an independent design studio in New York focusing on book design, print, and branding.

Before starting Casalino Design in 2016, Catherine worked in-house as an art director and designer at Simon & Schuster, Random House, and Grand Central Publishing. She began her career at Rodrigo Corral Design.

Over the past two decades, Catherine’s work has been recognized by numerous design organizations and publications including AIGA, the Type Directors Club, Print, Communication Arts, Eye Magazine, and the New York Book Show. She speaks at area art schools and design talks, and volunteers as a mentor for Alphabettes, a group for women in type.

She has served as competition chair and judge for several international design competitions, including for The Type Directors Club, The Art Directors Club, and the Association of American University Presses.

In 2023, Catherine had the unique opportunity to design book covers for a major film: She designed several book jackets that were used throughout the 2023 Cord Jefferson movie American Fiction. You can read about her creative process of producing covers for a movie in our exclusive Q&A featured on our blog. She also shared all of her designs used in the film in this Instagram post.

Catherine Casalino has created a class on book cover design available from Domestika: Design Thinking For Book Covers and Visual Concepts.

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Catherine Casalino

Creative Director, Book Cover Designer

Catherine Casalino is the principal and creative director of Casalino Design, an independent design studio in New York focusing on book design, print, and branding.

Before starting Casalino Design in 2016, Catherine worked in-house as an art director and designer at Simon & Schuster, Random House, and Grand Central Publishing. She began her career at Rodrigo Corral Design.

Over the past two decades, Catherine’s work has been recognized by numerous design organizations and publications including AIGA, the Type Directors Club, Print, Communication Arts, Eye Magazine, and the New York Book Show. She speaks at area art schools and design talks, and volunteers as a mentor for Alphabettes, a group for women in type.

She has served as competition chair and judge for several international design competitions, including for The Type Directors Club, The Art Directors Club, and the Association of American University Presses.

In 2023, Catherine had the unique opportunity to design book covers for a major film: She designed several book jackets that were used throughout the 2023 Cord Jefferson movie American Fiction. You can read about her creative process of producing covers for a movie in our exclusive Q&A featured on our blog. She also shared all of her designs used in the film in this Instagram post.

Catherine Casalino has created a class on book cover design available from Domestika: Design Thinking For Book Covers and Visual Concepts.

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Designer Requirements

Only a carefully curated group of designers are given access to the creative briefs posted on the INABC Jobs Board. This system ensures that clients receive top-notch, focused proposals from professionals whose talents have been vetted

All designers who will be bidding on your cover design have applied to receive job notifications and have been approved by the INABC admin team. Our approved designers:

  • Are professional book cover designers, not simply generalist graphic designers.
  • Have been working in the industry for a minimum of 3 years, usually more.
  • Must demonstrate a contemporary aesthetic, creating work that feels current and relevant to today’s book design market. We seek professionals who stay informed on industry trends while pushing boundaries with innovative, forward-thinking designs. Our designers know that our clients are not looking for designs that feel “dated.”
  • Regularly and consistently work on multiple book cover projects each month. Over years of designing at this pace, they’ve built portfolios showcasing a substantial body of published work (at least 16 covers for review).
  • Are committed to delivering high-quality, original designs tailored to each client’s unique vision. 
  • Do NOT sell or offer book cover premades. At INABC, we do not condone the offering of pre-made book covers. We are fans of highly bespoke cover work.
  • Do NOT use AI-generated imagery in their commercial work.
  • Have accessible online portfolios showcasing book cover work that are easy for anyone to review.
  • Have extensive experience working with self-publishing authors AND commercial presses.
  • Are available and excited to receive these weekly briefs.

If you are contacted by a designer that doesn’t align with the requirements described above, we ask that you please contact the INABC admin team at ineedabookcover.assistant@gmail.com.

Designer Disclaimer

INABC is not a full-service design agency. It’s a curated directory designed to help visitors identify the designers behind some pretty amazing book covers.

If you reach out to a talented designer from this site, INABC does not take responsibility for the professional interactions that may follow. Each designer in our directory sets their own proposals and contracts. We encourage you to review a designer’s portfolio carefully to make sure they’re a good fit for your project and to communicate your expectations clearly with your chosen designer. Designers and clients are expected to draft, negotiate, and sign their own contracts to ensure that expectations, deliverables, and rights are clearly outlined before any work begins.

While we do our best to curate a talented community, INABC is not involved in the collaborations that follow, and, therefore, we cannot guarantee the outcome of individual projects with specific designers. If you run into an issue with a designer that you find from using INABC, we are open to learning about your experience, but ultimately, INABC will not be involved in any specific disputes. For more information, visit the For Authors page and read our Terms & Conditions.

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