Maria grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and has been art lover since she could hold a crayon. She has a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied design, printmaking, and photography. And is also a graduate of the Fiorello H. LaGuardia H.S. magnet art program. In 2019, Maria co-founded Rise x Penguin Workshop, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers. She previously designed for Random House, Disney Hyperion, and Workman Publishing. Before falling in love with book design, she worked in news and magazine. Maria’s work has been recognized by AIGA 50 Books/50Covers, the Type Directors Club, and the New York Book Show. She is also a member of the LatinX/Latine in publishing community and supports diversity in books. When she is not designing, Maria blogs about outstanding covers on Book Design Heroines and writes the Some Things Covered column for Spine magazine. She also takes many long walks with her husband, Art Director Tam Nguyen, and their dogs, Bodhi and Ashoka.
What was your path to becoming an Art Director?
I've been into making art since I was around 10. I went to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School's magnet art program in NYC. After that, I got my BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, focusing on design, printmaking, and photography.
After college, I took on some freelance design jobs for hard-news papers in South Chicago and then briefly joined a magazine startup in California as an Associate Art Director. While I enjoyed the responsibility, I missed NY and wanted to realize my dream of being a cover designer. So, I moved back to NYC. I started as a book-interior designer at an indie publisher, then moved on to more complex book designs (with some covers) at Random House Adult. After about 10 years in adult books and moving up to Senior Designer, I felt I needed more support to grow, so I started freelancing YA (Young Adult) covers in my spare time.
Not long after that, Disney Hyperion's Creative Director, Joann Hill, recruited me to design YA, Middle Grade, and some picture books for her team. This was a game-changer for me. It kicked off the most successful and creatively fulfilling part of my career. In kids' books, I finally found the support and focus on diverse stories I'd been looking for. It felt like I had found my place in the world.
After 4.5 wonderful years at Hyperion, I tearfully left to take an Associate Art Director role at Workman Publishing, focusing on non-fiction Middle Grade books. I made this move because I had come to realize the lack of POC Art Directors and mentors in the book design community. Young designers had begun to approach me for mentorship, and I wanted to be better prepared for that responsibility. And for that, I needed to move up and become an Art Director.
About 2 years later, a friend told me that Cecily Kaiser (The Publisher of Rise x Penguin Workshop) was looking for an Art Director. When Cecily brought me on board, I helped her team launch the inaugural RISE list. Today, I design and art direct picture books and board books on the RISE team, which is celebrating 5 years in print this year.
When a manuscript comes across your desk, how do you find an illustrator and how do you work with them during the process?
Let's see, we don’t often have a completely finished manuscript because ideally, we start work years before the book is published. I read early drafts when they are available to me, but the larger part of my work involves discussing the book with the editor, who knows it best and is crafting it with the author. I ask for the feeling the book should convey and what it should not. Sometimes, I request a short list of adjectives that describe the book. Usually, the editor will have a strong sense of the particular strengths the artist will need to accurately reflect the voice and character of the book.
Our list is for ages 0-5, and we also publish a lot of non-fiction. These books require artists with a strong attention to detail and an ability to research and accurately depict the content. Whether it is a French horn, a contemporary stroller, or a historical figure’s home, our books are often the first ones kids read on a subject, and we want to show them the world just as it is. We take that responsibility very seriously.
Then I usually look at agency websites, Instagram, or I simply research the topic, which usually brings up people who already have a personal connection to the subject matter. And we want that artist—the one for whom illustrating our book's subject is a dream assignment. Personal connection makes great books, whether the topic is rocks, social justice, music, history—you name it.
Working with artists really varies, but we do try to work out schedules that feel realistic to them. That’s usually what we need to figure out first. Some artists want more time to sketch, others an extra pass of color sketches before they go to final art. Some sketch in a very detailed way, others sketch loosely. I will say that if the book has a set cast, it is helpful to do a finished rendering of the full cast lined-up or even one or two finished spreads before going to final art. This way everyone is on the same page as to what the characters and the book’s overall look will be like.
For some projects authors want to be very involved, for others not at all. I can say that no project is like another. So really, I would say the most important thing is to ask for what you need and prefer. We try to accommodate whenever possible.
What do you look for when you review an illustrator's portfolio?
I want an artist that has a personal connection to our book’s topic. I look for faces and compositions that show emotions. I look for an ability to edit themselves and provide focus to the page. I look for color that is appropriate to the feeling of the book. Most importantly, I look for a strong point of view that is clear as soon as you look at their work.
I want to hire artists that are genuinely themselves, and while everyone continues to grow and evolve, I think the strongest artists lean into their strengths, know who they are, and understand where they fit in the cultural discourse.
What are three tips you can give illustrators to make their portfolios pop?
Here are a couple of tips that might help you get noticed by Art Directors like me:
First, focus on creating work that you truly love and have a clear point of view on. Putting that out into the world will bring you projects you’ll be excited about.
Second, make sure to share your process online, whether it's on Instagram or other platforms geared towards creators. Post your clearest, most detailed sketches, and then post the finished work shortly after. Clear sketches are very important in picture books, so when we see that, we know that you will thrive in the process.
Third, help us find you! When you post your work, use tags that relate to the subject matter. For example, you could use tags like #spacekidsillustration, #bicyclingfamiliesillustration, #summergardenillustration, or #kidsgamesillustration. You can also use tags that describe you as an artist, such as #gothkidlitillustrator, #southasianillustrator, #scientificillustrator, or #feministillustrator.
There's a book out there that needs your unique expertise, so help Art Directors find you by thinking about searchability when you share your work.