Lewelin Polanco
Pronouns:
She/Her
Where are you from?
Queens, NY
Race / Ethnicity:
Dominican
Company / Position:
Simon & Schuster
How did you get into design?
I've always loved art as a child, and after many left turns, I found my way back to it in college by majoring in graphic design. When I started working at Simon & Schuster, in the desktop department, and learned all about the world of designing interiors, I knew immediately that's what I wanted to do.
Favorite book or current read and why?
My favorite book to recommend people is "You Are Awesome," by Neil Pasricha. I've read a lot of self-development books, but there's something about this one that just CLICKS. He not only shares his successes, but also his failures, and how MANY tries it took for him to get there. As humans we love to dream big, but fear of failure is such a big obstacle for some. In this book he normalizes failing, and communicates the importance of it in such a humbling way.
Tell us a surprising fact about you?
I'm also a comic writer. I'm still pretty new to the industry, but I'm learning so much so fast. I love it!
What did you learn about publishing that you wish you knew before?
I wish I'd known there were other important design components to a book than just the cover. I knew covers got designed, but didn't think much about the interior until I actually started working at a publishing company. Many folx till this day are surprised when I tell them about my career designing the "inside" of books.
How do you over come a creative block?
Taking a break to do things that I find fun tends to spark inspiration. Like playing video games, hanging out with friends, or rewatching my favorite movies.