www.thepenguin.com Issue no. 1 €2.50
Penguin
7 April 2018
Interview with Kate James Check pg 6-7
Readability Through Legibility
LEGIBILITY THROUGH TRADITION Exclusive Penguin Books Introducing redesigned classical fiction works Melissa D’Agostini Paperbacks Penguin books, first published in 1935, were the first mass-market paperback was produced in Britain. Penguin were republishing existing works of fiction and non-fiction to a higher standard. The books were mass produced to be cheap, and to be small and light in weight for people to travel with. There are two standard book sizes within the paper back industry: A format: The original Penguin size, 181x111mm. B format 198 x 129 mm, first used by penguin in 1945 for Russian Review and widely used over the last twenty years. For certain series other sizes were introduced, for example a Puffin Picture Books were approximately double Penguin. Also, A5 (210 x 124 mm) has occasionally been used for the Pelican History of Art series. Composition Rules Before Tschichold started working for Penguin, he had requested some of Penguin’s books for examination before starting any design projects for the company. He realised that there was a nonexistent compositions for their books. Therefore, when working at Penguin, Tschichold devel-
oped the “Penguin Composition Rules.” These rules included; “composition, indenting, punctuation marks, spelling, capitals, small capitals, italics, folios, figures, references, footnotes, make-up, and the printing of plays and poetry.” Within the rules, there was an unalterable and fixed grid system. Setting up these rules created a cleaner look for the readers. Horizontal Grid Tschichold’s reform on Penguin’s cover design did not involve a dramatic change; in fact they were subtle. Edward Young was the designer prior to Tschichold, and he designed the tripartite divisions for the cover. The horizontal panels were flexible in its measurements and at times the top and bottom coloured panels varied in height from book to book. As with the pre-war covers, the horizontal grid was also adapted to allow for the inclusion of illustration. In 1951, the vertical grid appeared, and the horizontal grid was used occasionally, when appropriate. Symmetrical Ideals Before working at Penguin Publishing Books, between 1933 and 1946, Tschichold realised that a “symmetrical typographic treatment could fulfil the requirements of successful book design and that asymmetrical compositions were less appropriate for the works of literature.” Tschichold stated that centred typography was allowable. He believed that title pages with short lines of text were more aesthetically appealing when centred, and symmetrical setting were easier for
Jan Tschichold, Above, refining Penguin to its simplest form
compositors. He also believed that title pages were being neglected, and therefore he put more time and emphasis on the title pages to convey a solid first impression of the book. This is a contrast with his earlier claim that grids should not be “rational” when making a modernist book design. However, by changing his mind to return to traditional layout, it will make the work familiar to the readers, and even though he rejects mod-
‘Readers want what is important to be clearly laid out’
START YOUR COLLECTION Penguin Books Penguin and Random House came together in 2013 to form the world’s first truly global book publishing company. Our purpose is to capture the attention of the world for the stories, ideas and writing that matter.
Penguin, Above, a symbol for literacy
Penguin’s job is to lead the field, creating formats that bring ideas and stories to life in compelling and contemporary ways. From traditional printed books, ebooks and audio books to interactive apps, blockbuster films, TV shows, radio, theatre productions, live events and social media, the list is as vast as our imagination. Their books shape the broader cultural life of our society. Our readers’ tastes
are constantly changing: they are engaging with information in new and exciting ways. So we constantly think about the best means to share a story. Visual Language Penguin designed a basic but bold colour coding system which had a function. They covers designs which was used for both functionality as well as aesthetics. They created a colour coding scheme which divided the different books into their different genres: orange for fiction, green for crime, blue for biography, burgundy for travel, yellow for miscellaneous, and grey for current affairs. This technique was used again for the colourful Pocket Penguins. The books were designed
to come in a range of striking colours. The Standard Penguin Classics Colour Chart denotes a colour for each of the original languages that Penguin Classics were translated from. While some have remained the same (Russian, Italian and German) others, including Spanish and French, have new colours.
in mind. Penguin is not afraid to change with the people. They update themselves as society changes too. It is seen by their modern cover designs and their social events. Up until today, the Penguin logo has been updated several times but it is still recognisable and popular.
Symbol of Literacy There are many different types of genres that penguin have produced. Try picking up a penguin and expand your Penguin collection.
Penguin and Random House came together in 2013 to form the world’s first truly global book publishing company. Our purpose is to capture the attention of the world for the stories, ideas and writing that matter.
Eighty-two years later, the penguin logo is still well known. Penguin Books are seen as trustworthy company with the people
Books vary in Prices. Penguin Books start from €4.95