Tell me about your book using the form on the site. I'll get back to you personally.

Marko Markovic

Q: Do you work directly with authors?

Yes. Every project is handled personally by me. You have direct access from brief to final file — no account managers, no layers.

Q: What genres do you specialize in?

Military memoir, leadership and business, true crime, public affairs, medical, sports history, and nonfiction memoir. These are the genres where I have the deepest experience and the strongest portfolio.

Q: Have you worked with traditionally published authors?

Yes. I have an established relationship with Skyhorse Publishing, having designed 20+ titles for the Front Page Detectives series led by Dylan Howard.

Q: What makes your covers different?

Stopping Power. A cover has one glance to grab attention and communicate a message. I've spent 25+ years learning how to make that glance count — from newspaper front pages to book covers read on phones, tablets, and store shelves.

Q: What file formats do you deliver?

Print-ready PDF and high-resolution JPG/PNG for Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Barnes & Noble Press, and ACX audiobook platforms.

Q: Do you offer interior formatting?

Yes. Interior formatting for print (PDF) and Kindle (ePUB) is available alongside cover design.

Q: How many revisions are included?

Revision rounds are defined per project. The goal is always to get it right — not to count rounds.

Founder & Senior Art Director, 5MEDIADESIGN

25+ years in publishing, editorial, and design. 400+ book projects for US‑based authors and publishers since 2018.

The Story

I grew up in Belgrade watching my father draw. He was an illustrator and a pioneer of illustrated movie posters in South-Eastern Europe, working in an era when artists relied entirely on talent and skill. No undo button. No Photoshop. Just airbrushes, paint, and hands. For one of his works, he received an honorable mention at The Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards, a remarkable recognition for someone coming from South-Eastern Europe at the time.

He remains the most creative person I’ve ever met, and my greatest inspiration to this day.

Lager Nis — hand-illustrated movie poster by Rade Markovic, Marko’s father — Hollywood Reporter honorable mention — **My father’s work.**
*Airbrush on paper. No undo. No Photoshop.*

The Hollywood Reporter — Honorable Mention certificate awarded to Rade Markovic for the Lager Nis movie poster — **Honorable Mention, European Films**
*The Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards, 1988*

Design has been part of my life from the beginning.

Outside the studio, I’m a husband and father of three, twin daughters and a son. That has taught me a thing or two about patience, focus, and working under pressure.

The Career

In 1998, I walked into a daily newspaper and never looked back. Over the next twenty years, I grew from design apprentice to Art Director leading a 50-person department at Ringier AG, one of the region’s highest-circulating media companies. Daily deadlines. Constant pressure. No room for average.

Then came freelancing, Upwork, and a project that changed everything: designing the complete visual identity for GE’s largest annual conference in the United States: a 100-foot brand wall, exhibition booths, invitations, all signage and communications. A Fortune 100 company, no face‑to‑face meeting, delivered from Belgrade.

“Marko is an excellent graphic designer who created social media and website banners, digital signage, and printed signage for our recent Americas Conference. He exhibits great dedication and work ethic. Even the time difference between us never kept us from meeting and exceeding deadlines.”

— Lori Smithey, Event Marketing Manager, GE Digital

GE 2019 Americas Conference registration area with branded backdrop

“I have worked with Marko for over 2 years as part time contractor for GE Digital via Upwork. He has been fantastic to work with. He is creative, a good communicator and produces work quickly and efficiently. I would consider him an asset to any team.”

— Lauren Hanson, Marketing Content Director, GE Digital

The second turning point was Dylan Howard, then Vice President at American Media, publisher behind Us Weekly, The National Enquirer, and more. He found me on Fiverr, showed me what his in‑house designers had done, and asked me to try. One round. Then we started working on all his books, eventually 20+ titles for the Front Page Detectives series through Skyhorse Publishing.

“The maestro weaves his magical wand again!”

“The best in the biz.”

— Dylan Howard, Author & Investigative Journalist, Skyhorse Publishing

In 2018, I made it official. I founded 5mediadesign, named after the 5-star rating I’ve maintained on every freelance platform I’ve ever worked on.

The Work

book projects for U.S. authors and publishers: 400+
in publishing and editorial design: 25+ years
book design studio: Est. 2018
to maintain focus on each project: Limited intake

Since 2018, I’ve designed 400+ books for US-based authors and publishers. Every project is handled personally: no junior designers, no templates, no handoffs.

My clients include retired US Navy admirals, Walt Disney World executives, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, DEA special agents, Mayo Clinic physicians, and investigative journalists published by Skyhorse Publishing. This includes books designed for Admiral Mike Manazir (U.S. Navy), Dan Cockerell (former Vice President of Walt Disney World), Ira Berkow (Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, The New York Times), and Dr. Edward T. Creagan (Mayo Clinic).

What I look for in every cover is what I call Stopping Power: the ability to grab attention in one glance and make the reader want to know more. It’s intangible and difficult to replicate. Finding it, every time, is what drives me.

View selected work

Free tools I built for publishing

Barcode Rocket

Print-ready ISBN barcodes for your own books or your clients’ books. Free for authors, designers and freelancers, within the free limits.

Try Barcode Rocket

GREP Batch Processor

A free InDesign script that runs your saved GREP queries in order across the whole book, with preview and one-step undo.

Get GREP Batch Processor

See all tools

Questions

Do you work directly with authors?

What genres do you specialize in?

Have you worked with traditionally published authors?

What makes your covers different?

What file formats do you deliver?

Do you offer interior formatting?

How many revisions are included?

How do I start?

Ready to talk about your book?

Most projects I take on are books where the author’s reputation is already established, and the design needs to reflect that level.

The process is simple: a focused brief, a small number of strong directions, and refinement until the cover feels right. I take on a limited number of projects at a time, so each one gets full attention.

Tell me about your book

I’ll review it personally and get back to you within one business day.