Innovative Product by Penguin Books

On vacation in Colorado, I stopped in the infamous Tattered Cover bookstore on Colfax Avenue. Inside I found a free standing floor display by Penguin Books. My attention was drawn to the incredible cover designs and their clean and highly simple typographic solutions. To make a long story short, the books are a rebranded Reference Library, and have sold well over a million at 3.99/each! Most are two color covers, but letterpress I believe.

I've since researched and discovered that Penguin's in-house designer designed a similar line called "Great Ideas," which was the precursor to these books. Penguin Claims...

“Some were bought by people who wanted accessible versions of the text, and some by people who liked the packaging.”

I find the latter statement highly interesting.

If you are interested in learning more, check out these articles...


Penguin uses design to revitalise its back catalogue with Great Ideas and a revived Reference Library

New ways to judge books by their covers

Great Ideas = great design