Shadab Khan
Pronouns: He/him/his
Where are you from?: New Delhi, Delhi, India
Race/Ethnicity: South Asian
Languages: English and Hindi
Where do you currently work at?: Penguin Random House
If you transitioned out of the industry, where did you work before? How long did you work there?: I had interned as a designer at Simon & Schuster India, and Bloomsbury India, before landing a full time position as a book cover designer at Penguin Random House India.
One favorite book you've designed and why?: The Memoirs of Valmiki Rao by Lindsay Pereira. It was one of the books where once you finish reading a brief, you exactly know what you want to create. I had an absolutely fun time ideating the cover, and coming up with options. Lindsay really adores the one we went ahead with.
How did you get into design?: Through multiple internships at Simon & Schuster India, and Bloomsbury India, where I picked a lot of information and first hand experiences in the art of design.
What do you like about being a book designer in publishing? : Channeling creativity into crafting visually compelling covers has been a source of immense satisfaction for me over this last year. And since I am an avid reader, getting to read manuscripts in their early stages is just cherry on the top.
Tell us a surprising fact about you?: Everything I have learned related to design is through my internship at Simon & Schuster India, where a perfect designer taught me everything :)
What's one goal you have for yourself in this industry?: To design covers for some of my all time favourite authors.
How do you overcome a creative block?: Mostly by taking a break and circling back after I have done enough research, and mind mapping.