Daniel Mejia is looking to the right. He has short dark hair, wears glasses, a plaid tie, a white shirt and dark sweater.
Daniel Mejía Valadéz

Junior Book Cover Designer, Hachette Book Group, New York City
Instagram: dvaladezdesign
Website: Daniel Valadéz

I'm a designer and photographer with a passion for graphic design. After a brief chapter in literary publishing, I returned to school to fully pursue design and haven’t looked back. I’m inspired by the way design shapes our world, and I hope to contribute meaningful, impactful work to this vibrant profession. As a first-generation Mexican American, I often draw on my cultural roots in my creative process, especially through hand lettering — blackletter in particular — and typographic design.

I'm married to my best friend, Abigail, and together we have a sweet Stabyhoun pup named Harper.

""This image showcases a branding concept for "Fine Arts Cinema." It includes the logo, a film journal spread featuring Robert Eggers, promotional posters for Paris, Texas and Y2K, a mobile ticket and cinema app interface, and a popcorn cup with a menu. The design combines modern and classic cinema elements.

This image features A1 Steak Sauce branding with bold red and white typography. It includes a classic bottle design with historical details, a slogan "Sauce. Elevated." paired with a photo of meat and sauce, and a modern logo. The design combines contemporary and vintage elements, emphasizing the sauce's premium quality.With A1 Steak Sauce, I wanted to focus on branding and packaging by elevating the brand to a more sophisticated level akin to high-cost whiskey branding. I did this by tapping into the brand’s royal roots and channeling that to bring A1 to a more elegant and elevated place. 

The image features a vibrant pink background with bold typography from Juan Felipe Herrera's poem "Borders." Key lines like “When the bus stops there will be nothing” and “We are everything because we come from everything” are presented in large, dynamic red, blue, and purple text. The title "Borders" appears diagonally in pink and blue, with the final quote, “If you feed it with love, we will triumph,” also prominently displayed. The design emphasizes movement and power through playful text arrangements.For this minor project, I designed a publication based on a pre-existing piece of writing. Using typography, I created a chapbook — or poetry zine — where the visual design reflects the tone and rhythm of the text to engage the reader. I printed the final piece using risograph, overlaying pink and blue ink to highlight the overlapping dialogue within the poem.

This image shows a film journal, Cinezine, with a focus on "Nuevo Cine Mexicano." It includes graphic illustrations and articles on Cronos and Mexican cinema history, featuring illustrated portraits of directors and film stills. The design uses bold red, green and black colors.I created this major publication from start to finish. As an avid film watcher, I wanted to make a film journal that I would personally like to read. I opted to illustrate the whole thing as it has always been a skill I didn't feel as confident in. Getting out of my comfort zone proved to be very rewarding.  I also took this opportunity to use large format newsprint, something I always wanted to do. While this work didn't win any awards nor was it sponsored, I was proud to experiment in new ways.