Breakdown of Обложка и шрифт создаются дизайнером.
и
and
дизайнер
designer
создаваться
to be created
обложка
cover
Questions & Answers about Обложка и шрифт создаются дизайнером.
Why is дизайнером in the instrumental case here?
In Russian passive sentences, the person or thing doing the action (the agent) is put in the instrumental case. It acts just like the English word 'by' in phrases like 'by the designer'.
Why does the verb создаются have the -ся ending?
Adding the reflexive particle -ся to an imperfective verb is a standard way to form the passive voice in Russian. While it literally looks like the cover and font 'create themselves', it means they 'are created'.
If I wanted to say they 'were created' as a finished action, would I just use the past tense of this same verb?
No. The -ся passive is mostly used for ongoing, general, or repeated actions (imperfective). To express a completed passive action (perfective), Russian usually uses a short passive participle instead, such as были созданы (were created).
The infinitive is создаваться, so why is the -ва- part missing in создаются?
Verbs ending in -давать, -знавать, and -ставать drop the -ва- suffix when conjugated in the present tense. So создавать becomes создают, and with the reflexive ending added back on, it becomes создаются.