The Odyssey

From Penguin’s designer hardcover classics series. This series reprints books to cherish, collect, and pass on with striking new editions of literature's most beloved books. Designed by graphic design artist Coralie Bickford-Smith, all of the books feature gorgeous patterns stamped on linen cases, colored endpapers, and ribbon markers. These rich and sumptuous volumes will likely be one of the most coveted sets of books ever produced. Bickford-Smith uses conforming grid patterns for the cover designs, imposing a recognizable style that works across the entire series of books. The patterns on the grids convey something of the character of the individual titles. These patterns are signifiers for the book’s character and meaning, bringing contextual complexity to the design. Each title’s design was worked on extensively using the book’s text, mood boards, picture research, and literal patterns to take a slightly new angle on a familiar work. Examples of this can be seen with the peacock feather design on Dorian Gray, which plays on the book’s themes of vanity and the superficial; whereas the leaf motif on Jane Eyre refers directly to the lightning-blasted chestnut tree, a concrete element in the text that serves as a potent symbol of the book’s central relationship.