STANDARDS
Core Art Standards: VA2, VA3, VA5
CCSS: R3, R5, R6
Professional Puzzler
How does Geoff Cota bamboozle people with his mind-boggling puzzle designs?
Photographs by Benjamin Brickner
Cota’s newest puzzle is 500 pieces, featuring intricate feathers and flowers.
Scholastic Art: What's your job?
Geoff Cota: I make laser-cut puzzles at my family-owned and -operated company Fathom Puzzles, in Barnard, Vermont. All the artwork, cut designs, manufacturing, and order fulfillment are done in-house.
SA: How did you get your start making puzzles?
GC: I went to college to study video game design. But after living in Pittsburgh during college, I decided that city life isn’t for me—and most video game studios are in cities. So after graduating, I moved back to Vermont where I grew up. I painted houses for a while, and then I got a job as a graphic designer at Stave Puzzles, which is a company that makes high-end jigsaw puzzles. I was there for nine years before I decided to try it on my own.
SA: What was it like to start your own business?
GC: It was scary but exciting. When I left Stave Puzzles, I had a non-compete, so I had to wait two years before I could sell my own puzzles. I spent that time working in a warehouse. I learned so much about managing inventory, packaging, and shipping from that experience. At the same time, I was building my brand on the side. I couldn’t sell anything, but I could still work on every other aspect of it—designing, cutting, packaging, and getting ready.
1. Cota begins by digitally designing the art and cut lines.
SA: What’s your working process?
GC: I paint digitally on a tablet. I like being able to Control-Z to undo, which I can’t do with watercolor. I create the artwork and the cut lines [the edges of each puzzle piece] simultaneously. This allows me to make intricate cuts so the colors connect perfectly but don’t bleed between two pieces. Most other puzzle companies license the art, and then they add cut lines that aren’t necessarily designed specifically for that image. I work back and forth between the artwork and the cut lines, so I’m in Photoshop and Illustrator simultaneously, constantly going back and forth.
2. Then he uses a laser cutter to cut the puzzle.
SA: What happens after you design the image and the cut lines?
GC: I do a test cut before I finish the artwork because I need to make sure all the pieces are going to stay connected without pulling apart too easily. Then I’ll make any modifications to the cut lines and the art. Next I do a test print on the puzzle to make sure the artwork aligns with the cut lines. Once that’s done, it goes into production. I cut all the puzzles in the batch using a laser cutter, and I spray on a primer so the print adheres properly to the puzzle pieces. The images are printed, and then I spray a finishing coat on them. While I wait for the finishing coat to cure, I make the boxes by hand.
SA: How do you evaluate how difficult each puzzle is?
GC: My sister tests every single design. She loves puzzles and is really good at doing them. She’s the first person who assembles each new design. She times herself to see how long it takes and keeps notes about what she likes and doesn’t like. She’s brutally honest, which is what I need.
Courtesy of Geoff Cota
3. He prints the art on the cut puzzle pieces.
SA: What challenges have you faced?
GC: I’m colorblind. I struggle with oranges, reds, and browns and greens, blues, and purples. But I work with those color combinations a lot. I cheat by using a digital tool to help with color matching. After I finish the art, I have my wife review it to make sure the colors look correct.
4. Finally, Cota makes each box by hand.
SA: Where do you find inspiration?
GC: I want to create designs that have intricate details and that will connect in interesting ways. So I look for subjects like feathers and flowers that lend themselves to detail.
Cota looks for subjects that lend themselves to detail.
SA: Do you have any advice for students who are interested in a career like yours?
GC: I want to say go for it, but I’d also caution against just jumping in. Work for a company that’s closely aligned to what you want to do, see what they do that works, see what they do that you can improve upon, and then use that knowledge to branch off and do your own thing.
