The Pieces of the Puzzle For Karolina Wudniak, book design was not a career she initially sought out in college. Instead, it was the final piece of a global puzzle that began in Poland. In her “previous life,” Karolina was a journalist and a blogger, a role that relied entirely on her ability to communicate through the written word. However, after a multi-year backpacking trip through South America, New Zealand, and Australia, she and her husband settled in Canada. Facing the challenge of a new language, Karolina felt less comfortable writing professionally in English than in her native Polish. She decided to pivot toward her other passion: visual storytelling.

The Evolution of a Specialist Her transition into design was fueled by the curiosity she developed as a traveler and journalist. She began by teaching herself Photoshop for her travel blog and eventually landed a gig designing audiobook covers for a publisher. This “clicked” immediately, and when a client asked her to design both the cover and the interior of a book to ensure they matched, she taught herself the art of typesetting and interior layout.

Now, seven years later, Karolina has developed a clear specialty. While she is open to many projects, she avoids fantasy, thriller, and horror because she doesn’t read them herself and feels she wouldn’t be able to translate them effectively into visuals. Instead, she finds her “creative zone” in nonfiction, particularly memoirs and books that sit at the intersection of business, mindset, and spirituality.

The Design “First Date” One of the most unique aspects of Karolina’s process is her focus on the “vibe.” She views the initial onboarding call as a “first date” to see if she and the author click, as they will be working closely together for eight to twelve weeks. Once they agree to move forward, she sends a detailed questionnaire that asks authors to look at their own bookshelves or visit a library to identify exactly what they like and—more importantly—what they don’t like.

Karolina believes that the interior of a book should stay in the background, allowing the reader to immerse themselves in the story without being distracted by weird spacing or jarring design elements. For the cover, she views it as a collaborative tool. If an author doesn’t subconsciously love their cover, they will have a harder time marketing the book. “If you’re not loving your cover… you will resent it,” she warns, emphasizing that her goal is for an author to be proud to show their book to the world.

Navigating Industry Integrity Karolina is also a vocal advocate for author protection. She encourages writers to ask their designers tough questions about where they source their artwork and fonts. In the age of AI, she stresses that authors need to know if a cover is human-designed or computer-generated, as this impacts the value of the service. Furthermore, she reminds authors that they are the ones who will be contacted if there is a copyright infringement, not the designer. Her number one rule for authors is simple: “If you don’t have a contract, just go. Run the other way”.

Finding the Flow For authors currently facing a block in their first manuscript, Karolina offers advice based on her own creative habits. When she feels “lost” in a project, she gets away from the computer and goes into nature—sitting by a river with a coffee or going for a run to clear her head. She encourages female authors to find whatever brings them joy and trust that the ideas will flow once they are back in a creative and comfortable space.