20 inspirational Penguin book cover designs

Ever since Penguin published its first paperback in 1935, its covers have had a massive influence on British culture and design. More than 75 years on, they’re as popular as ever, with some book jackets even making it onto T-shirts, deck chairs, mugs and posters.

The creators of these iconic designs have ranged from typography legend Jan Tschichold to graphic designer Romek Marber. Over the years they’ve created memorable artwork for everything from new fiction to non-fiction, classics to collections, 'Specials' to short stories.

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When Penguin first published these infamous horizontal grid designs, the roles of designer, art director and printer were very much blurred. Edward Young devised these covers as well as the Penguin logo itself. He went on to become the publisher's first production manager. The colours were used to indicate the book's subject matter. Initially, orange was used for fiction, green for crime, dark blue for biography, cerise for adventure, red for plays and in this case, yellow for psychological novels.

In November 1937, Penguin released its 'Specials' collection, which published opinions and investigative journalism on current affairs. The design shifted dramatically, with some front covers even showcasing part of the book's blurb. The typography also changed, as restraints were abandoned and the bolder weights of the Gill Sans typefaces were used on many titles. The collection lasted from 1937 until 1944.

This was Penguin's first venture into hardback publishing. The 'Kings' were designed as a series of collectables, and were conceived on very different principles to previous Penguin books. Despite wartime rationing, the series triumphed and continued from 1939 until 1959, with 72 books published. Most of the designs stuck to the framework of illustrations or patterned backgrounds with the title in a set bordered panel. Some, however, evolved from this template, which only added to their attractiveness and appeal.

Competition from other publishers was in full swing by the 1950s. The Abram Games collection series was Penguin's first dive into full-colour covers in an experiment to see how it affected sales. Designer and illustrator Games established the one-and-a-quarter inch grid for the author, title and logo to be placed above his illustrations. Nine other illustrators were commissioned during the series, but fewer than 30 covers appeared before Allen Lane decided to stop the experiment due to the increasing cost of full colour printing.

This cover caught our eye thanks to illustrator David Caplan's clever use of illusion (if you can’t see it yet, keep looking). Although part of the somewhat 'unsuccessful' Abram Games Cover Experiment, we think this is an absolute winner. The colour palette works especially well in contrast with the dark, shadowed faces. You might notice Caplan's signature in the bottom left-hand corner, solidifying the illustration as a piece of art.

In 1961, acting art director Germano Facetti commissioned three designers to create a new grid for Penguin’s crime covers. They needed to incorporate an area for illustration and graphics whilst retaining a clear typographic style. We love this design by Romek Marber; it has a sense of Saul Bass to it and that’s always a good thing! The simple colour scheme also perfectly highlights the illustration.

With growing competition from the likes of Pan and Corgi, Penguin needed eye-catching covers more than ever. Godwin hired Alan Aldridge, who was younger and known for his sense of fun and creativity, as Penguin's fiction art director in 1965. He changed the face of the covers almost immediately, making sure their designs focused on the title in hand and not on Penguin. This was one of the first to use photography.

This series saw an update in the cover designs of the Penguin handbooks. Germano Facetti was in charge of the change and many claim that during his time at Penguin, he revolutionised book cover design. He gave this series the same sans-serif look as the other lists, with some collections within the series shaping their own style. This collection of sports handbooks is a perfect example of a sub-series within the collection. The colour scheme was chosen to increase bookshop impact.

The 1960s saw a resurgence of the Penguin Specials, with titles reflecting the social and political issues that the public were steadily becoming more aware of. The series aimed to ask and answer difficult questions of its culture and of its leaders. In the first half of the decade, the colour red dominated the covers, with the latter half of the decade moving towards black. We love the focus on the typography in this design, reflecting the subject matter perfectly.

Art director David Pelham took over as Penguin's art director and continued to use influences from previous design choices, but enlisted a more consistent design for the books’ spine and back. Here, we see his decision to give authors their own specific design for each series they released. We love this Roald Dahl offering, with its typography combined with clever illustration to showcase the 'kiss kiss' title in a sublimely simple way. The juxtaposition of the colours with a black backdrop highlights the illustration in exactly the right way.

Redesigning Shakespeare classics was always going to be a difficult task. Like Facetti, David Pelham wanted to make these titles distinct from each other. So he enlisted the help of illustrator Paul Hogarth, who’d had previous success with illustrating the Graham Greene series (1968-1975). Watercolours were used to create this amazing rendition of the animal, with the typography playing homage to broken script lettering from the Elizabethan era.

The resurrection of the King Penguin series had collectors and book lovers in a flurry. This meant the design had to reflect and live up to the excitement that surrounded the new series. Commissioned illustrations played a huge role in the overall design, which featured the series title in Century Bold Condensed, placed on each cover and white spine. We love this experimental illustration by John Clementson, who now lectures illustration at the University of Wolverhampton.

Ever since illustration was allowed onto Penguin covers in the 1950s, there have been very few novels that have not used some imagery in their cover design. In this series, some of the titles didn't actually include the author's name or title of the book; with this cover, you'll notice a demise in size and focus on the author's name and title. This title was a re-working of the original design, which did not feature the Penguin logo. Illustrator Klimowski remains one of Penguin's most notable and famous artists.

New art director John Hamilton's sole mission was to resurrect Penguin's fiction collection into a memorable design series. Key titles were selected as 'Essentials', with illustrators commissioned for each title. These covers don't really have any obvious unity apart from strong execution and a unique approach to design. The later novels even disregarded the orange Penguin logo, in favour of highlighting the design itself. The series, including this title, continues to sell today.

This series’ designs are not unlike those of the Modern Classics series, in that they are heavily image led, with simple typography placed in a grid at the bottom of the page. Designer Paul Buckley centred the design using Futura for the author and Mrs Eaves for the title. Using contemporary art with literature covers started in 1963 by Germano Facetti and has continued to evolve. This illustration by Vincent Burgeon breathes new life into an old story, with his experimental approach and gorgeous imagery.

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20 inspirational Penguin book cover designs

01. The Compleat Angler

02. The Rights of Man

03. A Book of Toys

04. The Great Escape

05. The Case of the Haunted Husband

06. Artificial Satellites

07. Busman's Honeymoon

08. The Penguin John Lennon

09. Improve Your Tennis

10. Drugs

11. Kiss Kiss

12. Science Fiction Omnibus

13. A Midsummer Night's Dream

14. A Clockwork Orange

15. The Slow Train to Milan

16. The Fourth Mode

17. Animal Farm

18. And The Ass Saw The Angel

19. Brothers Grimm: Selected Titles

20. Sixty Stories

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