Rafi Romaya
We spoke to Rafi Romaya, Art Director at Canongate, about finding creative inspiration and her move from London to Edinburgh.
Rafaela (Rafi) Romaya is Art Director at Canongate Books, an independent, award-winning publisher based in Edinburgh, where she has worked for nearly 10 years.
Rafi was born in Liverpool and thanks to her dual heritage was ‘never alienated from culture’ - she and her four siblings were surrounded by books, taken to theatre and libraries, and are all creative.
Rafi studied design at London’s University of the Arts and started her career at Faber and Faber, working at Pan Macmillan and finally as Creative Lead at Simon & Schuster before moving to Edinburgh to take the role at Canongate. She has worked on beautiful designs for Matt Haig, Samin Nosrat, Robert Webb, Alice Vincent, Michel Faber, Priya Basil, Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood amongst others.
'Canongate have always valued design and I was excited by the possibilities this new direction might bring.'
You worked in London for years before moving to Edinburgh to take your current role. What prompted this change?
The opportunity came around at the right time for me. I’d had a great year at Simon and Schuster creating author brands that hit the top spots, including a beautiful leather-bound cover design for Philippa Gregory’s The White Queen which won Best Limited-Edition Cover at the British Book Design and Production Awards – so perhaps these things helped me stand out when the role as Canongate’s Art Director came up. Canongate have always valued design and I was excited by the possibilities this new direction might bring: working with new authors, building a new team and living in a new city. I’ve worked with some amazing artists and authors over the years and have a fantastic team around me.
'Trends become global very quickly and I know agents don’t limit themselves geographically when looking for new talent.'
What are the main differences between working in London versus Edinburgh in your experience?
The most surprising thing is just how similar it is. Canongate have a London office which, pre-COVID, I visited often as most departments are split between the two cities. This meant I could retain relationships with the agents, designers and illustrators I’d built up over many years of living in London, whilst establishing new ones. Technology enables people to collaborate easily wherever they are based and I know agents don’t limit themselves geographically when looking for new talent. Trends become global very quickly.
Edinburgh as a city is a strong supporter of the Arts with world class festivals and facilities for artists which has been hugely enjoyable and rewarding to explore. I still love going to bookshops wherever I am and Edinburgh has a great indie bookshop scene run by very knowledgeable and passionate people. Ultimately though, how I work is to try and do what the book itself demands. For example, I was working on a number of children’s books pre-COVID so I attended Bologna Book Fair. The quality of illustration and the focus illustrators are given at the fair was fantastic to see..
'For me personally, the main difference between working in Edinburgh rather than London is I now look in a much more bespoke way for inspiration.'
For me personally, the main difference between working in Edinburgh rather than London is I now look in a much more bespoke way for inspiration – it is just as easy in terms of time and costs to fly to Italy as commute to London for example, so visiting the Venice Biennale in 2019 was feasible and I was able to see a vast amount of art and ideas from all over the world and being able to do it in one trip saved on my carbon footprint which is something we are all aware of doing.
Since the pandemic, publishers have started to move away from this 'London centric' way of working, and it will hopefully make publishing accessible to a more diverse range of talent, especially for those trying to enter the industry. It also means publishers can be more responsive and flexible working with local communities and authors as they’ll have an increased local knowledge which should be an advantage when creating a platform for debut writers, for example. Publishing is a creative industry so it’s important that creativity is utilised in how and where we work.
'The cover helps the reader navigate the bookshelf to find the right book for them.'
What are the key skills you need to work in design?
For book design, you first and foremost need to love books as you spend a lot of time reading manuscripts. And you have to be a ‘good reader’ because you’re creating a visual translation of the text at some level – setting the tone, giving the reader a hint of what’s inside, without trying to tell the whole story – to visually edit the essence of the book. The cover helps the reader navigate the bookshelf to find the right book for them.
You also have to be open to collaboration. All designs go through the cover process which means listening and sharing ideas with editorial, sales and marketing, production and, of course, the author, before it’s shared with the wider world. All the art team attend the weekly jacket meeting as it helps not just with the cover process but to also give an understanding to the bigger picture of publishing. Depending on the needs of the project I either design alone or collaborate with freelance designers or illustrators, so the list can showcase a range of the best talent out there.
'Knowing when to step in and when to give others that extra space and confidence that empowers them to push themselves creatively can be a fine balance.'
As Art Director when you’re selecting the right creative for the task in hand you at times need to adapt how you work to those around you to enable everyone to create their best work and see the overall publishing vision for the book brought to life. Knowing when to step in and when to give others that extra space and confidence that empowers them to push themselves creatively can be a fine balance.
'I’m endlessly curious about the world and new ways of seeing. Nothing exists in a vacuum.'
You’ve always been interested in culture and the arts. How do you see publishing within the broader industry?
I love storytelling in all its forms and books are just one obvious aspect of this. I’m endlessly curious about the world and new ways of seeing. Nothing exists in a vacuum. The same people who read books will also go to the cinema, galleries, museums, gigs and shops, so having a broader awareness feeds into understanding a book’s possible audience and how connections are made. You asked about what kind of upbringing I had in the intro and it’s an important question. Like anyone lucky enough to have the arts in a wide range of forms accessible to them from an early age, I’m able to draw on a range of visual references which helps me see possibilities at a different scale and I’m never intimidated by them.
When I’m looking for new collaborators, I often like working with people who are fantastic at designing skateboards, artists, album cover designers or have amazing tech knowledge for example but have never had the opportunity to apply that creativity to a book cover. I’m looking for potential and craft. It’s a bit like being a movie director or a choreographer; you’re helping to make the pieces work together and show people things they may not have seen before.
'People are interested in people and talking is one way we build relationships, and progress ideas quickly and effectively.'
What advice would you give to the person reading this interview?
The first would be to pick up the phone when possible, especially in these strange times. People are interested in people – it’s one of the reasons they read books – and talking is one way we build relationships, and progress ideas quickly and effectively.
My second point isn’t really a piece of advice but more my using this question as an excuse to celebrate the different things any individual can bring to the table at whatever stage of their career. Creativity is mysterious and inherent and that doesn’t just stop one day – there are plenty of late bloomers among novelists and filmmakers and artists, and it’s important to remember that!
Finally, could you tell us about another woman who inspires you?
There are so many! One example that immediately springs to mind is Sylvie Guillem’s farewell tour Life in Progress, as it chimes with what I was saying above. Her level of craft and the imaginative choreography displayed was incredible and left the audience in awe. She was using her last performance to push the boundaries both creatively and in terms of what the human body can do at any age (she was fifty years old at the time but if I’d have seen a twenty-year-old performing those moves I’d have been impressed). She didn’t fade out, she exploded off the stage and in doing so inspired a new generation of performers – and me.
For more of Rafi's work do check out her website: Rafaela Romaya.
