Interview by Carol Wright | Photographer: Hannah Ellison

Elisha Zepeda, a book cover designer based in the Pacific Northwest, has gained traction for his work after he started sharing his process and unused book cover designs on TikTok. Zepeda talked to NYOTA about originality in book covers, making art for art’s sake, and discovering his interest in art later in life.

Have you always been drawn to art and expressing yourself through art?

I honestly was a sports kid growing up, I didn’t really touch art until I was 18 or 19. My dad’s a baseball coach, so my whole life growing up was sports. Around 18 or 19, I started dating this girl who – just being introduced to her family of musicians, that was the first time I had seen art expressed as an emotion in a family. It was very foreign to me, and that relationship and the friendships it led to – it kind of felt like I walked into the person I was supposed to be in a way. That was a big change in my life. So, after that, I got really into art and expressing myself that way.

What motivated you to start sharing your work and creative process on social media?

It honestly came out of design decisions that I didn’t agree with. Doing stuff that I thought looked great and having it pretty much watered down to look like everything else that already existed pushed me into being like, well, I’m going to get their permission to post these if they didn’t use them because I’m really proud of this work. It’s been really reassuring to have it blow up and have people be like, ‘Oh, this is so good I can’t believe these covers weren’t chosen.’

Creativity when it comes to book covers seems like it’s on the decline. Do you hope that by sharing your work people can be re-energized by the art of book covers and appreciate the work that goes into that process?

Totally, I mean, that’s another reason why I started making the videos. It’s really fun to tell someone, ‘Oh, I’m a book cover designer,’ and they think that, all day, you just stare at a computer screen, and it’s nice to show how involved the process is. It’s definitely one of those things where I think people think it’s easy, and then you have, a couple days to make a handful of designs for a client that is putting thousands of dollars into this, and they’re trying to market this book, and it’s up to you to make something that they think they can sell.

In your TikTok videos you often have an image, illustration, or concept that is supposed to inform your work for the client. Where do you like to research and find inspiration for the cover art as you work?

I guess one thing I do is I always try to make something that I would personally buy. So I never want to give a client something that wouldn’t make me buy that book. So they give me their brief and a set of images or an idea. I spend a lot of time researching. I probably spend an hour on Pinterest before I even touch Photoshop and I look at books for inspiration, but a lot of times other just random art. The whole time I’m kind of asking myself, what would this look like if I did it in the style of this thing that’s inspiring me, that really helps a lot. I’m looking at this project right now that has to do with roots. It’s a political book, and they want something with tree roots and so I was looking at logos and minimal trees and really interesting treatments of any lined pattern that I could somehow relate to roots. Then I can put that imagery into that space and make it my own. But it’s a lot of mood boards and seeing what would be cool.

There are certain books that have covers that become iconic in their own right. What do you think usually makes a book cover have that long-lasting impact?

Every time I do a social science book, they say, ‘Can you make it look like Atomic Habits?’ And I want to tell them Atomic Habits was successful because it worked for that book and that topic, and it doesn’t make sense for you to copy that because I think bestsellers become bestsellers because they’re unique and fresh and they’re specific to that book. I wish that the focus was making something look as unique as possible, specific to the material. I really think that’s what helps a book stand out. A lot of time, marketing resorts to what’s going to be safe so they just want whatever is trending. That’s really frustrating as a designer, because I want to make something that I think is really interesting and stands out, and then it just ends up looking like something that already exists.

Who is your favorite author and which of their book covers is your favorite? 

I really love Raymond Carver. He writes short stories, and they’re very understated and to the point. His book covers, I’m not completely in love with them, but the photographer shoots these, really unsettling film photographs of houses and they’re always very foggy and brooding, and I really love that photographer’s work. But I think if I had to choose a favorite author based on their book cover, I really like Molly Baz’s books. They’re cookbooks, but they’re so unique and bright, and they always have a brand new typeface that was made specifically for the book. I really love anything that she puts out.

Outside of graphic design you also record music and shoot film photography. Are music and film photography creative outlets that allow you to step away from your job and make art for art’s sake?

It is nice to have different creative outlets to scratch that itch of making art for art’s sake. That’s kind of why I didn’t want to be a designer, because I didn’t think that there was a job where you could do that. Then I found out book cover design was a thing, and that was really invigorating, because every project is new and different, and there’s not really any limit to the type of design you can make. But when I get tired of that, and especially when I’m doing a project that doesn’t really feel artistic. It’s really nice to be like, ‘okay, I’m going to put that creative part of my brain on hold, and I’m going to focus it on music or shooting film.’ It’s really nice to be able to pivot, and it always keeps me energized creatively. I would recommend that to anyone who’s creative, find multiple outlets so that you don’t feel burnt out.

What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

I mean coming from someone who didn’t go to design school, I think a lot of people, their biggest question is, what should I major in? And should I get an internship? Those things probably do help a lot, but I think what helped me was just focusing on being good, because you don’t have control over what’s going to sell. You don’t really have control over any part of the process, except that your work is good. So I would tell people, really refine your taste. Pay attention to what design catches your eye, because usually it’s a lot more simple than it’s made out to be, and I think it’s much easier to be good than people think and that’s what you have control over. Focus on being good and the work will find its way to you if you consistently are good. Another thing is finding your niche. I think especially in design, I mean, there’s a million designers who can work Photoshop and do all of these things, but eventually you’re gonna get paid for your specific design eye, so you might as well focus on making that unique.

This story first ran in issue 36: The Art Is Life Issue. Read more from the issue here.