Imagine if you could create a brand so iconic that it would not only provide an attractive, engaging and compelling identity for your brand; but would also become a design icon it it’s own right. And perhaps seventy, eighty years down the line, you’d be selling products bearing that very design as a revenue stream.
I’m a huge fan of the retro Penguin books identity: and it seems like I’m not the only one. The Penguin brand has recently taken on a life of it’s own with mugs, posters, stationery and tea towels to name just a few. Stores such as Bloomsbury (one of my favourites) and Art Meets Matter are chokka with more Penguin books merchandise than you can shake a stick at.
It seems that there’s no stopping the iconic brand, and whatever Wikipedia might say about the publisher’s fortunes the merchandise is only growing in popularity. So what can we learn about the brand? Just why is it so irresistible to us?
Simple, clean, iconic design. The best designs are simple, not overly fussy, and engaging. Penguin ticks all these boxes with the icon that has just the right level of personality (without being overly cute or kitsch), a clear “3 band” design and a simple colour palette.
Logical use of colour. Penguin haven’t just thrown colours on the book covers depending on how they feel in the morning, they’ve separated each genre into a different colour for ease of use. Very simple, but effective at the same time.
Consistent (but not boring) brand identity. The simplicity of the brand identity: a palette of colours, the Gill Sans font, the 3 band layout means that all the books look like they’ve come from the same company. Could you put all of your literature together over a period of ten years and say the same thing?
Engaging colours. Intense, rich, Autumnal colours are both engaging and yet intellectual at the same time. Which seem to fit very well with Allen Lane’s aim of producing high quality paperbacks for the same price as a packet of cigarettes. According to the official story
“We believed in the existence in this country of a vast reading public for intelligent books at a low price, and staked everything on it.” Allen Lane, founder of Penguin Books
The retro revival. Nostalgia is big right now. Think “Keep Calm and Carry On”, think the Ladybird books (oh the joy of finding Peter and Jane books all over again – I loved them!). Does it have something to do with us buttoning down the hatches in the recession and craving the safety-net of nostalgia? Who knows?
All I know is that I love the iconic brand that is Penguin books… Put me down for a couple of those deckchairs…
I love Penguin books and the brand and treasure my collection of Penguin 60s , little mini books that used to cost 60p…
It’s a well written article Fiona. It makes me want to head down to my local bookshop to find a Penguin book, as buying them online just isn’t the same as seeing them for real on a bookshelf and being able to flick through them…A strong brand indeed
Thank you Ute for your comments. I’ve been collecting every time I hit an antiques market or car boot sale. There’s something about that dusty university library feeling that’s so enduring. Did you see that the Book People released a collection of “Modern Classics” a couple of years back – new books, trad design. Bought the collection for my friend and now regret not getting a set for myself…
Penguin books are a perfect example of a design icon! I have the boxed collection that celebrated their 70 years of publishing and cherish the front cover illustrations and short stories. But I’d also like to grow my collection of the old books – there really is something about the dusty, used feel about old books and it’s amazing what you can find slipped in old books! It’s true that they worked hard to develop their design, consistent use of brand and the colours they used (as you described). Well done – this is a fab article, that started my day off just lovely.