15 July 2008

Great Ideas, great design

I have mentioned Penguin's release of the Penguin 70s before. I had a vague feeling that they were connected with the very differently wonderful 'Great Ideas' series as part of some festival of republishing Penguin were indulging in.

The Penguin 70s were commissioned from many different designers, reflecting the eclectic nature of their unmatched back catalogue. While the Great Ideas are extremely diverse in style, I never knew the whole series originated with the same company, David Pearson Design.

Thanks to Daniel at Nevolution, I've been introduced to David Pearson's website which is itself a paragon of elegance, economy and simplicity, exactly the values the best Penguin book designs embody.

The first surprise for me was that there are two more 'Great Ideas' series (Blue and Green)...




...but there are also German-only editions with beautiful covers.



There is also a stunning series of 'Great Loves' editions, which are breathtaking. For an idea that could have been so corny, the result justifies the entire rerelease project. I want to see them and hold them in my hand, but most importantly, I want to read them.




I agree with Daniel, Tschichold and Lane would indeed be proud.

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