Bright Earth examines the vast spectrum of colours we live with, from the illustrious history of monarchic purple to the 17th century attempts to make and define pink. In this extract, author Philip Ball uncovers the history and chemistry behind the infamously patented International Klein Blue.
We’ve long been fans of colouring books, and the satisfaction that comes from picking up our pencils and watercolours, The Liberty Colouring Book is no exception. We’ve spoken to editor Zoe Bohm on working with the iconic company.
In The Face of Britain, art historian and journalist Simon Schama explores the history of British portraiture, and unveils the secrets of some of the nation’s best loved works of art. In this extract, Schama tells the story of Christina Broom (nee Livingston) – Britain’s first female press photographer – and her photography of the Suffragette Movement at the beginning of the twentieth century.
As part of the new Penguin By Hand series, the cover of Elif Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love has been recreated in cross stitch by Emma Ruth Hughes. Read more on her creative process in this exclusive interview.
Penguin Junior Designer, Chris Bentham, describes the design process behind Live This Book, by Tom Chatfield. Live This Book combines design and practical exercises to inspire you to reflect on, and interact with, the world around you.
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake is a heart-rending and profoundly moving story of love and loss in World War II. As part of the new Penguin By Hand series, the cover has been recreated in hand embroidery by Jenny Hart. Read more on her creative process, and the challenges of using embroidery for a book jacket design, in this exclusive interview.
Michael Joseph editor Emad Ahktar takes a trip to the Penguin archive to rediscover some of the best sci-fi covers from the past 80 years.
2015 marks the 75th anniversary since George Orwell’s chilling fable of idealism betrayed, ANIMAL FARM was first published. Read an extract from the 1954 illustrated edition, republished this year by Penguin Classics.
Best known for designing the iconic covers for the Penguin Clothbound Classics, illustrator Coralie Bickford-Smith has now created her first tale. Here she tells us the story behind becoming an author as well as a designer ahead of the release of her original fable, The Fox and the Star.
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