This year the major publishing house Penguin is celebrating it’s 75th anniversary. On occasion of the anniversary, longtime art director Paul Buckley has picked 75 of the best cover designs Penguin has created in last decade. Alongside the images are comments from the author, designer, illustrator, art director and editors who worked on the project. Plus for some books they show alternative rejected cover comps. It’s really interesting reading about the designer’s thought process, what the art director changed or how the author felt about the cover. Flipping through the book I was also impressed with how many covers used illustration. High five to Penguin for making great use of so much talent, employing comic artists like Anders Nilsen, Lilli Carre, Chris Ware and illustrators like Brian Cronin, Brian Rea and Ruben Toledo. I’m excited to spend more time with this new book, curled up on the couch, reading about how each of these covers came to be! Preorder a copy here

© Julia Rothman 2007