Dezeen podcast: Penguin Covers Then and Now

25 June 2009

Dezeen podcast: in this podcast talk for the Design Museum in London, early Penguin Books designer David Pelham and former Penguin editor Judith Burnley discuss covers for publishers Penguin from the past and present, with current art director Jim Stoddart.

Above: Lost in the Fun House by John Barth. Cover by Eduardo Paolozzi

The podcast features extracts from a talk at the museum, chaired by Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic and entitled Penguin Covers Then and Now.

Above: In Transit by Brigid Brophy. Cover by Alan Jones, 1969.

The talk coincided with the Design Museum exhibition Alan Aldridge - The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes.

Above: The Penguin John Lennon. Cover by David Nutter, 1973.

Listen to Aldridge recounting stories from his career, including his work at Penguin Books, in our Alan Aldridge podcast talk.

Above: Creativity in Industry by P.R. Whitfield.

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Above: Mind the Stop by G.V. Carey. Cover by Alan Fletcher/Pentagram, 1976.

Here's some text from the Design Museum:

Over the decades Penguin has sustained a reputation for generating innovative and influential cover designs as seen in the work by Alan Aldridge in the 1960s.

Above: The Joys of Yiddish by Leo Rosten. Cover by David Pelham, 1988.

In this cross generational discussion, early Penguin designer David Pelham and former Penguin editor Judith Burnley will talk about the factors behind their particular Penguin heyday, to be compared with recent achievements and future direction described by current Art Director Jim Stoddart.