Penguin: Coralie Bickford-Smith

One of the main reasons that I've always been drawn to graphic design is book covers. If you had asked me when I was younger what I wanted to be when I grew up - I wouldn't have known what a graphic designer was - but I would easily have declared that I was going to design book covers.

I've always been an avid reader. Right now I have about 10 books beside my bed (some don't get picked up as often, others are in a quick moving queue to be read). I guess it was divined from a young age that I would end up studying graphic design when I silently critiqued a book on its cover alone. I still do.


















A well designed cover (and spine) will draw my attention at the bookstore and library - simply for it's aethetic beauty. Almost as quickly I'll recognise what genre it falls under. It's a vital communication tool that goes beyond the purely marketing angle - it seeps into our everyday lives. A book cover is a story in itself - giving visual cues about the story within and affecting our visual impression of the story before, during and after.

And no one does it better than Penguin. Careers and names have become household off the back of a Penguin cover collection - they are so iconic you recognise the logo on a bookshelf from the other side of the room. You know a Jan Tschichold cover when you see it. You know a Penguin Classic cover too.

The newest 'it' girl of Penguin covers is Coralie Bickford-Smith. Coralie has an eye and sensibility for classic book cover design - her latest series of designs for hardback are instantly tactile and old-world yet surprisingly modern. Her work is bold and striking and yet subtle and streamlined.

I came across an interview in the latest edition of Blanket Magazine with Coralie. It's a great interview - with questions that differ from the usual design interview dialogue. Plus, the title page spread is perfectly reflective of Coralie's style - bold, simple and brilliant. Definitely worth checking out.


Video of Coralie on Penguin's official blog.
Interview at Design Related.
Her website: Coralie Bickford-Smith.