What Faceout Studio does

Faceout Studio is a specialized book design studio headquartered in Sisters, Oregon (per company history; the firmographics listing cites Bend), founded in 1996. The studio delivers book cover and interior design, series and author branding, custom illustrations, social media graphics, animations, mood boards, infographics, and podcast cover art primarily to trade publishers, authors, and entertainment/media brands. Confirmed enterprise clients include Abrams Books, DK, Knopf, Insight Editions, Mattel, Smithsonian, Merriam-Webster, and Spotify. The studio is led by a named 10-person team (Spencer Fuller, Molly von Borstel, Paul Nielsen, Addie Lutzo, Kate Gendruschke, Amanda Kreutzer, Torrey Sharp, Emily Sixta, Kelly Vlach, Brian Mellema) with six named independent contractors.

The studio operates an internal proprietary 3D book-modeling system called Faceout 3D offering 65 templates used for cover mockups, and an author/publisher marketing support resource called Faceout Media. Surrounding sub-brands include Past Due Books (a public-domain book imprint), Faceout Loud (student-focused speaking sessions), and Inside Faceout (a studio blog). A direct-to-consumer e-commerce store sells branded merchandise — including Game of Thrones linocut prints (Wolf/Lion/Stag/Raven/Dragon, $50 unsigned / $250 signed by George R.R. Martin), notepads, posters, enamel pins, wooden toys, patches, and apparel — at unit prices from $5 to $250.

The business model is a B2B professional services model delivering custom, project-based book design through direct consultation, with quote-based pricing for services, supplemented by DTC e-commerce merchandise sales. The firm is privately held with no disclosed external funding, parent company, or investor base and appears to be founder/team-owned. Recognition includes 15 consecutive years of Graphis Design Annual awards spanning 2010-2026 per the firmographic summary, awards across 20+ other design and publishing programs (AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers, ECPA Top Shelf, AUPresses, Communication Arts, Print, New York Book Show, and others), and 100+ American Advertising Federation awards over many years.

Name

Faceout Studio

Legal name

Faceout Studio

Website

https://faceoutstudio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Faceout Studio is a Sisters, Oregon-based book design studio founded in 1996 that provides cover design, interior layout, series branding, illustrations, and 3D mockups to publishers, authors, and entertainment brands including Abrams, DK, Knopf, Mattel, and Smithsonian.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Book Design & Publishing Branding Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430), Graphic Design Services (54143)

SIC

Blankbooks, Looseleaf Binders & Bookbindg & Relatd Work (2780)

akta.pro primary industry

Content & Creative Studio for Creators (Concepting/Production) (MPAAAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Creator Content Production & Co-Creation Studios (BPAFAHAD)

Keywords

• Book cover design
• Book interior design
• Author branding
• Publishing design services
• Series identity design

Headquarters

HQ city

Bend

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Book Design Services: Custom book cover design, interior design, and series branding for publishers and authors. Project-based professional services.
2. Author Branding: Visual identity and branding services for authors including custom illustrations, social media graphics, logos, animations, mood boards, infographics, and podcast covers.
3. Merchandise Store: E-commerce sales of branded merchandise including prints, patches, notepads, toys, posters, t-shirts, and hats. Products range from $5 to $250.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Faceout Studio provides custom book cover design, jacket design, interior book layout, and series/author brand identity services for trade publishers, independent authors, and entertainment/media brands. The studio produces design assets spanning fiction, non-fiction, full jackets, interiors, series branding, and supporting marketing materials (illustrations, social graphics, animations, podcast covers, infographics). A proprietary Faceout 3D system with 65 templates generates 3D book mockups for marketing, while branded merchandise (prints, apparel, pins, toys) is sold direct-to-consumer through an online store.

Product overview

Faceout Studio is a specialized book design studio offering a comprehensive suite of services for publishers, authors, and brands. The core offering centers on book cover and interior design across fiction, non-fiction, and series categories, with supporting services including brand identity design, custom illustrations, social media graphics, animations, mood boards, infographics, and podcast covers. The studio operates a 3D modeling system called Faceout 3D with 65 templates for marketing mockups, and provides marketing support through Faceout Media. The company also runs a merchandise store featuring branded products including Game of Thrones linocut prints, notepads, posters, and apparel, and maintains a public domain book imprint called Past Due Books. Additional initiatives include Faceout Loud (student speaking sessions) and an internal blog called Inside Faceout.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Inside Faceout: Internal workings and musings of the studio
• Faceout Loud
• Past Due Books
• Faceout Media
• Faceout 3D

Products and services

• Book Cover Design Full jacket and cover design services for fiction, non-fiction, and series book packaging, including dust jackets and paperback covers with 3D mockups. Targeted at trade publishers and authors releasing new titles.
• Interior Book Design Book interior layout and typesetting design for publishers and authors, creating cohesive visual presentation throughout the book.
• Series & Brand Identity Design Cohesive visual strategy and brand identity development for book series and author brands, including logos and visual identity systems. For publishers managing multi-title series and authors building a personal brand.
• Faceout 3D Proprietary 3D modeling system for books, featuring 65 templates, used to create realistic 3D cover mockup visualizations for marketing and promotional use by publishers and authors.
• Past Due Books Imprint Faceout Studio's imprint curating and publishing favorite public-domain books as accessible editions, extending the studio's book design expertise into publishing.
• Faceout Studio Merchandise Store E-commerce store selling branded merchandise including linocut prints (Game of Thrones collection — unsigned and George R.R. Martin signed), notepads, posters, enamel pins, wooden toys, patches, apparel (T-shirts, hats, beanies), and book-themed collectibles. Sold directly to consumers and fans through faceoutstudio.com/store.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ award recognitions across major industry programs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Book Designers: The Book Designers is a professional book cover and interior design agency serving self-published and traditional authors. It competes directly with Faceout Studio for author-branding and book-packaging work, though it skews toward the self-publishing segment rather than enterprise trade publishers.
• Jessica Hische: Jessica Hische is an independent lettering artist and designer whose work spans book covers, publishing identities, and editorial illustration. Her practice overlaps directly with Faceout Studio's cover design and author branding services, particularly for prestige literary and illustrated titles.
• Penny Design: Penny Design is a boutique design studio focused on book packaging, identity, and series branding for publishers and authors. The firm competes in the same niche as Faceout Studio, offering comparable cover, interior, and brand-system services to trade publishers.
• Lorraine Binder Design: Lorraine Binder Design is a book cover and packaging design studio serving major trade publishers, with a portfolio spanning literary fiction, non-fiction, and illustrated titles. It is a directly comparable specialty boutique competing for the same enterprise publishing clients as Faceout Studio.
• Type Set Match: Type Set Match provides book cover design and typesetting services for publishers and authors, including series branding and interior layout. It is a directly comparable specialist competitor operating in the same book-packaging services category.
• Megan Doyle Design: Megan Doyle Design is a freelance book cover and series branding designer working with publishers and self-published authors. While more of an individual practitioner than a studio, the practice competes for similar projects and target customers as Faceout Studio.

Emerging players

• Reedsy: Reedsy is a marketplace and content platform connecting self-published authors with vetted freelance book designers, editors, and marketers. It functions as a partial competitor and partial channel for book design services, capturing project demand that might otherwise flow to boutique studios like Faceout.
• Canva: Canva is a self-serve design platform with book cover templates and brand-kit tools that enable authors and small publishers to produce design assets without agency support. It is an emerging player in the lower end of the book design market, representing the democratization of design that pressures boutique studios on smaller projects.

Broad incumbents

• Knopf Doubleday Design Group: The Knopf Doubleday Design Group is the in-house design organization for one of the most prestigious trade publishing imprints (itself a Faceout Studio customer). It represents the broad-incumbent model of fully internalized book design at scale, setting the benchmark for premium literary cover design that boutique studios emulate.
• Penguin Random House (in-house Design Department): Penguin Random House operates large in-house art and design departments that produce covers and series identities for its imprints. While not a standalone agency, its in-house capacity is a broad incumbent that competes with boutique studios like Faceout for the most premium author engagements and absorb some design work that might otherwise be outsourced.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/faceoutstudio
• Facebookfacebook.com/faceoutstudio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/faceout-studio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Faceout Studio