Penguin Celebrates 85 Years with Original Artworks
I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that the Penguin brand has been with me since childhood. They have introduced me to some wonderful classics, from Little Red Riding Hood, to Donna Tartt's The Secret History. And it's not just their stories that have captivated me, their unparalleled design excellence is a treat for the eyes.
It's been 85 years since Allen Lane created Penguin with the intention of making classic books accessible to all, and ever since, they have been synonymous with innovative design. In the beginning it was all thanks to designer Edward Young, who at age 21, not only created the Penguin logo but also devised a colour-coded scheme to denote the genre of their books. Orange for novels, green for crime/detective novels, pink for adventure/travel, dark blue for biographies, red for drama, purple for essays, yellow for miscellaneous and pale blue for the Pelican series. Orange novels were a bold choice. Done wrong, it can be garish and tacky. Done well, and you have yourself an instantly recognisable brand.
Today's Penguin designs have the same touch of magic. No matter the series, from the Little Black Classics and Penguin Moderns (with that gorgeous typography) to the exquisite clothbound hardbacks, they are all connected by simplicity and striking minimalism.
Will Smith, Head of Brand, Penguin Random House UK, comments:
“From its beginnings in the 1930s, Penguin has been indelibly associated with design excellence and visual inspiration. Allen Lane, our founder, famously declared that “good design is no more expensive than bad” and that he and his colleagues “believed in the existence in this country of a vast reading public for intelligent books at a low price, and staked everything on it.” We’re proud to continue to work with the very best and most loved artists and illustrators in the world.”
And so, to celebrate 85 years of Penguin, five of their most talented designers, illustrators and authors were asked to create fine art prints themed around the transformative power of books and reading. The ongoing pandemic is projected to have a disastrous impact on the literacy and life chances of some of the UK's most disadvantaged children, so Penguin have partnered with the National Literacy Trust and all profits will go to the charity to help get books and vital literacy resources into the homes of children who need them most at this time.
The prints are priced at £85 each and are available for a limited time only.
I spoke to Coralie Bickford-Smith, one of the contributors, and a designer at Penguin to find out more about her artwork and general design practice:
What’s the inspiration behind your artwork?
“Once upon a time” is such an iconic opening, and immediately evokes the intrigue and excitement you feel when diving into a new story. It reminds me of the joy of being read stories as a child, and that you can go anywhere within the pages of a book. Visually I played with the iconography of The Fox and the Star cover, which is inspired by beautiful past editions of fairytales.
Where does your inspiration come from?
A long walk among trees, a trip to the cinema, people watching, art galleries, a train journey. It is becoming more apparent to me that inspiration hits everywhere but at my desk. If I am mulling over a design brief it is best to think about it in a relaxed way rather than obsessively hound myself for the ultimate idea. My mind will usually work away in the background while I concentrate on something else, and then throw up an idea that I can play with to see if it fits.
Do you have a favourite medium?
I love drawing on paper and sketching but it all eventually has to go into the computer to get ready for the printing press. I love working with black and white line art and using special inks for printing to get vivid colours. I am known for loving a bit of foil and cloth too. The way I set up my work for the press is akin to wood blocking which is a more traditional medium. I tend to play and try and get that effect or feel on a commercial press as that is how most of my work is reproduced. I have just started printmaking at home on a small Adana letterpress, it is great to try new processes as you never know where they might lead.
What led you to make the jump from designer to author?
Creating my own children's book was always a dream. I spent my childhood illustrating small books of stories I had written. I just went around the houses a bit to get where I wanted to be. Everything I learnt on the way fed into how I write, illustrate and design my own books. It made me aware of the many facets to creating a whole book that I might not have been so aware of had I not been a designer.
When did you first realise the importance of good book cover design/decide to become a designer?
Drawing was always the way I processed the world around me. I was a very timid and shy kid who did not like talking much. I was either drawing a picture or reading a book. So naturally art was my favourite subject at school and became something I did every day. At primary school a teacher mentioned the idea of a college where you just studied art and design. And that was it, I had the seed of a plan. Then the love of books and design finally came together at Reading University when I studied Typography and Graphic Communication.
Do you have a favourite cover that you designed?
I think it is the first time I got to play with cloth and foil for an edition of Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales. But it changes. Recently I did George Orwell's 1984 as a clothbound which is so bold and makes me smile.
How did you feel when you were approached with this project?
I was extremely chuffed that Penguin asked me to be one of the contributors. Being able to do a piece to support the National Literacy Trust felt important to me, as the work they do is invaluable. Then as with any new brief it is very exciting at first but next comes the question: how can I nail this brief? So naturally I went for a long walk to mull it over.
Priced £85 each, the framed prints are available via the Penguin Shop for a limited period. Members of the public will have until Friday 23rd October to purchase a piece of design history.
To see more work from these artists, visit their sites:
Charlie Mackesy Coralie Bickford-Smith Dapo Adeola Jackie Morris Vashti Harrison
Editor, artworker and lifelong bibliophile.