Penguin 75: Designers, Authors, Commentary (the Good, the Bad . . .) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143117629 ISBN 13: 9780143117629

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2010

Synopsis

A unique exploration into the subtle art of the book cover

High standards in art and design have always been part of Penguin's publishing program. Now, on the occasion of Penguin's 75th anniversary, longtime art director Paul Buckley has chosen seventy-five covers that represent the best of what Penguin has produced over the course of the last decade. Giving readers a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the complex creation of a book's cover, Penguin 75 includes comments from authors, agents, and editors, as well as the designers and artists themselves. This witty and irreverent journey into the book world will appeal to lovers of art, design, and, of course, books.

With Contributions By:
Paul Auster * Tara McPherson * Daniel Clowes * David Byrne * Elizabeth Gilbert * Joe Sacco * Tana French * T.C. Boyle * Seth * Tom Gauld * William T. Vollmann * Art Spiegelman * Kim Edwards * Melissa Bank * Ruben Toledo * Tomer Hanuka * Jamie Keenan * Roz Chast * Garrison Keillor * Yoshihiro Tatsumi * Sam Weber * Paul Sahre * Tony Millionaire * Nicholas Blechman * Jon Gray and many others!

About this title

Review

Making the Book Covers
(Click on Images to Enlarge)

"I hired Julie for this particular title because...well, I'd rather not describe in print the things I've seen her draw...Google image 'Julie Doucet' (turn SafeSearch to off) and you'll see what I really mean--Julie gets REALLY DARK, and I thought she'd turn this book on its head. At the end of the day, though, the book is what it is, and the most we could do was the make light mention of boys. I insisted on pimples, though...lots and lots of pimples." --Paul Buckley, Art Director Read more about the Little Women cover...

"I came up with the selected cover in just a few minutes of thinking about it. It was my first idea. I sketched it out and really liked it. There was both sadness and wit, which I thought nailed the sentiment of the book. However, I dismissed it almost as quickly as I rendered it because I didn't believe it could come that easily. I set it aside and spent the better part of a week trying to come up with something I thought was stronger. Eventually, I came up with some alts that I liked, but none as much as this one." --Neil Powell, Designer | Illustrator Read more about the Junky cover...

"From the outset this seemed like a sensitive and tricky subject. How do you grab attention without offending anyone? The title is great and also needed to be fairly prominent. Best solution seemed to be something typographic. So with the help of a free Internet translator, I got to work. I thought of the most offensive phrase I could, then plastered it across the cover in Arabic! Genius, right?" --John Gray, Designer Read more about the How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? cover...

About the Author

Chris Ware, an award-winning illustrator and cartoonist, has drawn for many publications, including The New York Times Magazine and The Chicago Reader. Ware’s most well-known work includes Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth and the Acme Novelty Library series.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0143117629
• ISBN 13: 9780143117629
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Buckley Paul