Jenni Surasky

@jennisurasky / jennisurasky.com

Pronouns: They/them

Where are you from?: New York, New York

Identity: Black / African American

Languages: Engilsh

Where do you currently work at?: Junior Interior Designer at Penguin Random House

One favorite book you've worked on and why? I'm a big fan of F1 so I was stoked to work on the interior design for the F1 romance Cross the Line by Simone Soltani. The design has lots of small nods to racing throughout the interiors while still keeping it fun and flirty.

How did you get into design? I worked in theatrical and film props previously, but my favorite part of that was always when I had the chance to design fake books and newspapers for the set. I ended up going back to school for design and have been working in publishing ever since.

What do you like about being a book designer in publishing? I love that as an interior designer, I get to give a story tangible form. You have to find the best way to let text breathe on the page. It's also a bit of a puzzle. I love the moment when you flow in a text file from editorial and begin styling, until the blocks of text look like a real book.

Tell us a surprising fact about you? I'm also a fiber artist, so half my desk at home is always covered in embroidery thread and beads.

What's one goal you have for yourself in this industry? I'd love to design cookbooks one day.

How do you overcome a creative block? Usually I try to unplug. I go to the library, a museum or just for a walk in nature. I find that if I'm looking of inspiration online, I tend to get the same 5 to 10 ideas fed back to me. To break that loop its easiest to go looking for inspiration outside the reach of algorithms.