Despite the old adage, anybody in publishing will tell you that people most definitely judge a book by its cover. Particularly in physical bookstores, where thousands of books line the shelves, it is critical to have a cover that signals all the crucial details about the book at a quick glance – the genre, the subject and where it is a reognisable name, the author. A beautiful or clever design is bound to stand out and there are plenty of people who will take note.

Predictably, a lot more goes into the making of a book cover than just finding an image and slapping some text on it. Priya Kuriyan, an illustrator who has worked on many covers, particularly for children’s books, takes us through the fascinating process. Obviously, with graphic illustrations.

Priya Kuriyan is an illustrator and filmmaker. More of her work can be viewed on Instagram.

This article first appeared on The Duckbill blog.