"After he graduated in 2018, though, he faced a problem that's become commonplace for job seekers today: No one in the design industry seemed to be hiring. So he started working as a barista at a local bookstore with a coffee shop. While organizing the shop's books into categories by color palette and typography, he became fascinated with book cover design."
"On a whim, Zepeda decided to share his design process on social media. The first video he ever posted to TikTok-a relaxed breakdown of how he builds out cover options for publishers-hit more than a million views overnight. Since then, Zepeda has honed his editing technique to create a video style that feels entirely his own, centered on calming music, simple text, and engaging visuals. Today, he has almost a million total followers across TikTok and Instagram."
"This visibility earned Zepeda his job as a designer at Penguin Random House's nonfiction Penguin Press vertical, where he produces about 20 covers per year. Outside of that position, he also takes freelance work from clients who primarily discover him through TikTok. The lesson, he says, is clear: Designers across categories need to start viewing social media as their primary portfolio."
After graduating in 2018 and finding few design job opportunities, Zepeda worked as a barista at an Oregon bookstore and organized books by color and typography. Fascination with cover design led him to create a portfolio of faux covers and secure a role at a local book cover design studio. A first TikTok showcasing his design process went viral, gaining over a million views and leading him to refine a calm, text-centered video style. He now has nearly a million followers across TikTok and Instagram, works as a salaried Penguin Random House designer producing about 20 covers annually, and takes freelance clients who find him through social media.
Read at Fast Company
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