A Conversation with Katia Balab from MiblArt Book Cover Design

Katia has found her dream job at Miblart. MiblArt was founded for many reasons and one of those is to give everybody an equal opportunity to afford a marketable cover without spending a fortune. We are a book cover design company based in Ukraine. Apart from covers, our team specializes in designing logos, marketing banners, interior formatting, typography, etc.

MiblArt started with three young people sharing the same passion for creating a unique design. Through hard work and an infinite amount of hours mastering their craft, the guys ended up founding a place for people who shared their values – MiblArt.

Let’s get started with a quick rapid fire.

Q1. Your favorite superpower you fantasized about.

Flying, so I can travel anywhere I want for free.

Q2. When do you usually draw? Morning or Night?

Creative flow never ends, 24/7.

Q3. Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?

I would say introvert, but I love hanging out with my friends.

Q4. Who is your favourite Anime character?

One pu-u-u-u-u-unch.

Q5. Would you rather travel to the past or to the future?

I’d rather travel to the past to meet my past self and tell her to stop being lazy.

Q6. What is your last Google search?

How many hours in a week 😀

Q7. Which art style appeals the most to you?

Anything that is not a black dot on a white canvas and sold for a million.

Q8. What is the kindest thing someone ever did for you?

After the war started in Ukraine, I got hosted for free in another country.

Q9. Fellow Creators or Artists you admire.

I love covers by Derek Murphy, they hit the market well.

Q10. Describe your style in one word.

Refreshing.

Q11. What is one missed opportunity that you wish you could have a second chance at?

I wish I didn’t sleep at the math class, so I didn’t have to google how many hours in a week.

Q12. An art or piece of work you wished you had created.

Orange, Red, Yellow by Mark Rothko.

It’s time for a more detailed conversation, Katia.

You’ve answered our rapid fire so well, Katia. Now, it’s time for our readers to know more about the person behind the designs.

Q. Tell us something about yourself that’s going to make us wonder more about you.

I’m only 23, but I’ve lived in 4 countries (Ukraine, the USA, China and Turkey) and travelled to 15 more. My biggest dream is going to Antarctica to see the penguins in their natural habitat…What else, what else…Ah, yes! I have a dream job at MiblArt =)

Q. Well, that will keep you in our thoughts. So, what kind of art inspires you?

I love attending art galleries and admiring the capabilities of a creative human mind. My favorite kind of art is visual, so everything about painting, sculptures, photography, collages, needlework, etc.

Q. Interesting. What, to you, are the most important elements of a good art?

The most important element is the idea itself. Another thing, is how this idea is being conveyed, if the tools, such as colors, lines, shapes, are being used correctly. The art should make sense and be appealing to ones eyes.

Q. Do you hide any secrets in your art that only a few people will find?

The designers from MiblArt don’t hide secrets, because in order to make the cover marketable, you need to make it simple and accessible for others to understand. People will not buy a book if the cover hides 1001 hints, it would simply make it misleading. So, transparency is the key.

Q. What’s the toughest work you’ve created so far? What made it so challenging?

Cover redesign for Glen Dahlgren’s The Chronicles of Chaos series. Taking redesign commissions is always tricky because the author comes with expectations of drastically increasing sales and getting recognition. The bar is too high, but as a result, the series we’ve redesigned won a prestigious Dante Rossetti Award.

Q. What’s unique about your style that’s been appreciated by your fans over the years?

Authors favor our style for its relevance to the market. Not only we input art theory and years of experience in every artwork, but also conduct a detailed market research of what kind of covers would sell the book. Each project is personalized, created with knowledge and passion.

Q. How do you progress from an idea to the final piece? Describe your process.

Firstly, we ask an author to fill-in the creative brief. If the author has some references, they help us to know exactly the mood of a cover art. Then, after an extensive research the designer creates a cover and sends it for a review. Most of the time, the author loves to see how their ideas are now visually speak from a book cover.

Q. What does success look like to you?

For us success is seeing happy clients recommending our services to others on Facebook, receiving photos of smiling authors with their printed books sent to us, getting mentions and positive reviews. Those emotions are contagious, making us realize that client satisfaction is our main source of understanding of what a real success is.

Q. What inspires you, and where do you seek inspiration for something you’ve never created before?

There are so many channels: Amazon category lists, Pinterest, Reddit, book covers from other fellow creators. I’d say that people are always the biggest inspiration. This is why we need to share, collaborate, exchange.

Q. How do you deal with pressure and deadlines?

A cup of herbal tea. To be honest, dedication to work and art are the major factors in dealing with deadlines. We are known for our punctuality, but if something unpredictable happens, our project managers ask authors for extending the delivery date. Being transparent and honest about difficulties is the key.

Q. They say time and tide waits for no one, and one needs to keep evolving to survive. How do you adopt and develop new skills?

The designers constantly attend trainings from our amazing creative director Julia, she prepared hot-topic for discussions, so designers can join the meet-ups, exchange ideas and learn about new trends. As a company, we are evolving by adding new services, hiring new talents and creating educational content.

Q. It’s been fun. Now, before we wrap this up, do you have any suggestions for newcomers in this field? If so, what are they?

Well, don’t stop learning. Designing a book cover isn’t only about appealing visuals, it is more than that. Learn about self-publishing, what kind of covers hit the top charts on Amazon, what covers do other cover designers create, what’s the market demand. Learn from practice and don’t waste time on negative comments of people on the internet.