Happy 4th of July!

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The Penguin Books Color Code

Vintage Penguin books all had the same iconic design (two bands of color on the top and bottom and a white band in the middle with the book's title and author in black), but they came in an array of colors.  The colors were not, however, purely for aesthetic purposes; each color represented a different genre or subject matter.  Here's what the different colors mean:

Red = Drama
Orange = Fiction
Yellow = Miscellaneous
Green = Crime Fiction
Dark Blue = Autobiographies
Purple = Essays
Cerise = Travel and Adventure
Grey = World Affairs

Here are some vintage Penguins (and Pelicans--but that's a story for a different day) from abebooks, and a video that explains the colors.

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Penguin Books Ouija Board

Sadly, you can't buy this Penguin Books-inspired Ouija Board.  Graphic designer Kathleen McIntyre designed this Ouija Board as a study of the Sabon typeface, which was designed by Jan Tschichold, who was one of the most important editors and designers at Penguin Books.

(Kathleen McIntyre)

Olympia Le-Tan X Pierre Marcolini Chocolate Boxes

Olympia Le-Tan, famous for her handmade book clutches (see some here), is teaming up with French   chocolatier/pâtisserie Pierre Marcolini to create boxes for chocolates and macarons.  Like her clutches, the boxes are made to look like books.

(Vogue France)

Warby Parker Reading Position Wallpaper

Bookish-stylish-hipster-affordable glasses company Warby Parker has designed this brilliant wallpaper, which seems so far not to be for purchase.  It's based on an illustration of amusing reading positions that was made for their blog.

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Puffin in Bloom: Children's Classics with New Covers by Anna Bond

These new covers by Anna Bond, head artist at Rifle Paper Co., are so gorgeous.  This is the latest Puffin/Penguin collaboration, following Puffin Chalk Classics, designed by Dana Tanamachi (here), Penguin Threads, designed by Jillian Tamaki and Rachel Sumpter, and Puffin Hardback Classics designed by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini.  These books are children's book-priced hardbacks, and the covers are illustrated in Bond/Rifle Paper's signature whimsical style. They will be on sale from Penguin in late August.

The Map of Modern Art, from William Gompertz' What Are You Looking At?

The UK edition of William Gompertz' popular survey of modern art, What Are You Looking At?  The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art, has this wonderful pull-out "map of modern art."  The map illustrates the relationships between various modern art movements, and shows the development of those movements through time from left to right.  The map uses the design of the famous London Tube map as its inspiration, and the different tube lines represent the various movements, and the "tube stops" are artists in those movements.  Gompertz is a former board director of the Tate Gallery, and currently the BBC arts editor.  Check out the Pop Art-inspired UK and US book covers below.  It's such a shame that the US edition doesn't include the map!  You can buy a copy of it from the Penguin Books UK site.

UK edition

US edition

(Penguin UK)