Sharanya Kunnath
@sharanyakunnnath /
sharanya-kunnath.com
Pronouns: She/Her
Where are you from?: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Race/Ethnicity: South Asian
Languages: English, and limited visual proficiency in spoken Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Arabic
Current Position / Role: Cover Designer & Illustrator / I freelance, but have done extensive work for Hachette Publishing
One favorite book you've designed and why?: Gods, Giants and the Geography of India by Nalini Ramachandran and published by Hachette India. I love this cover because it was the first analog illustration cover I'd ever done (with some digital colouring, however). The style was very reflective of my own personal style; the editor/art director was very receptive to my ideas, and took on the bold step of keeping the cover primarily black and white for a young audience, which is something I'd always wanted to experiment with. The subject matter was also very intriguing: the mythological/religious stories behind some of the most important geographic formations in India.
How did you get into design?: I'd always known I wanted to draw for a living, and would constantly doodle all over my textbooks in class while at school. I ended up doing a BFA in Graphic Design at American University Dubai for a good foundation and to have a varied skill set, and then specialised in illustration with an MA in Illustration from Arts University Bournemouth, UK. After graduation, I worked full time as a graphic designer for an agency, but quit pretty quickly to explore illustration, which I knew I'd never do if I continued at a design agency. Since then, I've been doing a mixture of illustration and design projects. They offset each other well; my graphic design work is a nice break from illustration, and vice versa.
What do you like about being a book designer in publishing? : It's always very rewarding to be able to help someone else's creative baby come to life. It feels like meaningful work and I've been very lucky in that the people I've worked with in the industry have been very supportive and appreciative.
Tell us a surprising fact about you?: I like insects. I'm constantly trying to identify the species of little bugs that I come across with Google Lens. I think living in an urban environment like Bengaluru, we don't see too many glamorous species of animals, but we forget that there's a whole other kingdom that we DO come across everyday. It makes me feel closer to nature to be able to identify insects and get over the squeamishness most of us have when touching them.
I do the same with birds; I'm trying to learn to identify them by their calls as well.
What did you learn about publishing that you wish you knew before? : It's not as lucrative as I thought it would be, but it does make up for it in some ways with creative satisfaction.
What's one goal you have for yourself in this industry?: To illustrate a beautifully written book that goes on to become a classic. Something instantly recallable, like Michael Mitchell's cover for Catcher in the Rye. Also to have an instantly recognisable style like Aubrey Beardsley or Quentin Blake.
How do you overcome a creative block?: I think cleaning, exercise, little breaks and going out and having a novel experience are the things that help me the most.