Designer Interview: Kris Hack of Temys Designs

Welcome to Kris Hack of Temys Design! Let's jump right in... How did you become a book cover designer?  I started out as an author. I enjoyed writing but there was something missing. An author friend of mine asked for help with her cover design since I knew a bit about Photoshop from designing marketing materials for myself. I ended up redesigning all of her book covers and found my true calling. Do you have a favorite genre or theme to design for and why is your favorite? I've niched in Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy, and Romantic Suspense. Most of the books I read fall under one or more of these genres and the covers I've created in them tend to be my strongest.

What makes a book cover great? Marketability. I'd love to say, a pretty cover makes a great cover but a pretty cover is only great if it attracts the RIGHT reader.

Do you have a favorite project in particular? What about that experience made it unique? Yes! The cover I did for Max Monroe for Oops, I've Fallen is currently my favorite. It was a challenge but it was so much fun to make. I especially love the elderly conga line in the background, it makes me chuckle every time. What aspect of book cover design do you find most appealing? What do you find the most challenging? I actually have fallen in love with vector covers and vector art. BUT it's also the most challenging for me. I am currently taking courses to improve my vector design skills and hope to one day be designing completely custom rom com characters. What does a typical day look like for you? I start out creating a couple of premade covers to get my creative juices flowing. Then I work on any custom projects I have coming up in the next week or so. I sprinkle in a bit of content creation for my newsletter as I'm creating and generally finish off the day working on my planner and using entirely too many stickers (it's an obsession and if you know, you know). Do you have any "fur babies" who assist in your design process? Yes! My little Sara is either in my lap or right next to me on the floor when I'm working at my desk. What do you do when you find yourself creatively blocked? I read, usually one of my go-to authors, or binge watch a fantasy-ish TV show. Most of the time, I'm looking at stock photos before I've even finished the book or show. Is this your dream job? If you weren’t designing book covers, what would you be doing? THIS is my dream job. I love that this business allows me enough flexibility to stay home with my brand new baby. I count myself lucky every single day that I am able to do what I love and what I love allows me to be with the ones I love. What’s on the horizon for you? Custom Vector Art! I LOVE doing the vector rom com covers but I hate the amount of time it takes to find stock vector art I like that are in similar styles. Seriously, it's ridiculous how long that takes. You can connect with Kris here: http://www.temysdesigns.com http://www.instagram.com/temysdesigns