‘It’s the essence of the entire book, on a small piece of paper’

The designer won the award for his cover for Kintsugi by Anukrti Upadhyay

1 How do you feel about getting this recognition?

It is quite an honour. In India, unlike in the West, we don’t have many awards for book cover design. That makes it even more special. Here, there is certainly a lack of appreciation or even understanding of the work that goes into designing a book cover. It is an art form in itself. You have to convey the essence of an entire book on a small piece of paper. As the designer of the cover, you have to help sell the book. The cover has to look bold, exciting and interesting, and you have to also remain true to the author’s vision. It is tough to accomplish this. Apart from looking good, the cover has to have some substance. It has to be meaningful.

2

Since you have travelled to Japan, you must have been familiar with the practice of kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken objects with gold, even before this novel...

Yes! Around 2016, my wife and I did a project together, working with shards. We also learnt about kintsugi. It is fun to compare this with the practice of rafu in India, where we try to mend clothes. With rafu, the part that you mend is almost hidden. With kintsugi, there is a celebration of imperfection. The capacity to see beauty in what is distorted or broken is very powerful, and it is definitely part of our culture here in India too.

3 Purchasing decisions are often influenced by book covers. Do you think book cover designers are paid in accordance with their impact on sales?

Not at all! The reader’s first interface with the book is through the cover, but book cover designers are not paid anywhere near what they should be paid based on their impact.

With authors who are well-established, say Amitav Ghosh or Arundhati Roy, the name itself draws the reader. With younger, less-established authors, the cover plays a big role in attracting readers.

Designers have different challenges in both contexts. Authors with a big fan following cannot be complacent either. They have to live up to expectations, and try to reach new audiences. A book cover is not a painting done on a whim. It requires a sound concept, and a lot of thought.

4 Apart from the cover that got you this prize, which others are you proud of?

I enjoyed working on the cover for Kishore Bhimani’s book The Accidental Godman (2012). I also feel proud of Dirk Collier’s The Emperor’s Writings: Memories of Akbar the Great (2011).

For that one, I worked with Ashraf Ansari, who did the Urdu calligraphy. I really like experimenting with typefaces.