Contact:

hello@sinemerkas.com

 

Sinem Erkas is a graphic artist and designer with an appetite for experimentation and a good sense of fun.

Her visual practice ranges from flat digital works to tactile paper collages to 3D sets, often creating playful and bold images that make you look twice.

Based in London, Sinem graduated from CSM in 2008. She has worked in publishing for 16 years as a book cover artist and has acquired numerous awards and clients that include Profile Books, Penguin Random House, Wellcome Collection and The Observer.

    • Brand Impact Awards Judge 2022

    • D&AD Awards Judge 2019

    • 5 x Finalist @ British Book Design & Production Awards

    • 5 x Winner @ ABCD Awards

    • 5 x Shortlisted @ ABCD Awards

    • 1 x D&AD New Blood Award

    • Rising Star 2013 @ The Bookseller

    • Live Paper Cutting
      ‘Cocoa Kids Fest’
      Dulwich College, 2021

    • Live Paper Cutting
      ‘Women of the World’ festival,
      Southbank Centre, 2020

    • Talk on ‘Collaboration’,
      St Brides Library 2019

    • Regular careers advice,
      Central Saint Martins

    • Regular careers advice,
      The Brit School

    • She Designs Books, 2020
      Type Directors Club, New York

    • The Girl Guide, 2017
      Geffrye Museum, London

    • A+ Exhibition, 2016
      Central Saint Martins, London

    • Killed Covers, 2012
      Hay festival, Hay

    • Adorn, 2010
      London Design Festival, London

    • The Internet Pavilion, 2009
      Venice Biennale, Venice

    • Not a f****** art show! 2009
      Trinity Buoy Wharf, London

    • YCN Live, 2009
      The Village Underground, London

    • D&AD New Blood Awards, 2008
      Earls Court, London

    • Context Collected, 2008
      St Brides Library, London

    • CSM Degree Show, 2008
      Oxo Tower, London

    • The Replenishing Body, 2007
      Gallery Boutique, London

  • AIGA Eye on Design
    Anyways
    Boots
    Daunt Books Publishing
    Elle Decoration
    Granta
    Google
    Guardian
    Hachette
    NSPCC
    Penguin Random House
    Profile Books
    SHOWstudio
    The British Library
    The Observer
    The Times
    Warp Records
    Wellcome Collection

  • Illustration
    Graphic Design
    3D Props / Set Design
    Art Direction
    Animation
    Live Paper Portraits

  • Instagram: @sinemerkas

    Twitter: @sinemerkas

Copyright © Sinem Erkas 2025

 

FAQ

  • I graduated in Graphic Design from Central Saint Martins in 2008, having studied Art & Design at The BRIT School. My first commercial role was creating window displays and lookbooks for Kabiri, a high-end jewellery boutique on Marylebone High Street. After a period in branding, I developed a portfolio of design and illustration and self-published a personal project called Volte-Face — which, to my surprise, attracted press attention and sold 400 copies in a single day.

    This unexpected response prompted me to approach several publishers, where I made the belated but exciting discovery that designing book covers could be a full-time career. I began freelancing for Elle Decoration, Bloomsbury, Orion and later Profile Books. Today, I work from my own studio, designing for publishing houses across the UK and internationally.

  • Yes you can, feel free to email me.

    If you live in London, I sometimes get invited to events where I make 15-minute live paper portraits of anyone who is willing to see themselves in paper. I use a scalpel like a pencil and work really fast to get interesting results! Follow me on instagram to find out the latest event news. See some recent paper portraits here.

  • I’m mainly inspired by the words I read in the books or articles I am working on. Also personal experiences, comics and finding simplicity in things. Visually I’m like a sponge and can be inspired by anything from a little vintage matchbox to an exhibition about optical illusions to a piece of theatre, for example Ennio Marchettos paper costume comedy!

  • I have always been drawing / making for as long as I can remember. I used a lot of sketchbooks as visual diaries and find communication a lot easier through images.

    When I started designing books, that was when I started to also create my own images commercially. It’s quite handy being able to design and illustrate.

  • Sometimes I am asked to work in a particular medium, but often I decide instinctively... Some ideas are better executed digitally, whilst others might be better suited to paper collages or another medium, like balloons, for example. Whatever compliments the idea!

    I’m a fan of both analogue and digital, and get bored very easily, so I like to mix it up!