About

Briefly:

I’m a freelance book designer and typesetter. I’ve been doing layout and design since high school in the 1990s, and since 2000, I’ve typeset university press books and college textbooks using provided designs. Since about 2010, I’ve been designing books myself.

Less briefly:

I came to book design in a roundabout way. I didn’t study design or art in college. I graduated from Southwestern University with a BA in English and history, planning on going back to school to become an English professor after a few years break from academia. My first job out of college was at G&S Typesetters, a composition house that had been around Austin since the 1950s. I often feel like a typesetting journeyman. At G&S, I apprenticed with people who had been in book composition since I was born (or before). And the work felt right for me. I love books, and I love being a part of making them.

After years of implementing other people’s designs, I finally started designing myself. It was intimidating because the only design classes I’d taken were workshops in high school to help me design the school newspaper. But it’s a bit like learning how to write from reading good books. The basic conventions of book design and composition are second nature for me now. I’ve spent years looking at quality scholarly monographs, complicated college textbooks, and interesting art books. I was ready to draw on my experience and challenge my creativity. A lot of the design work I’ve done is for nonprofits or small presses, and designing something beautiful that fits in with their limited budgets only adds to the challenge.

I’m efficient and accurate. I can work quickly and precisely, which means high quality work at a reasonable price.

Contact me at amber [at] ambermorena.com.

All text and artwork is copyrighted by the authors, artists, and publishers.