DESIGN OF THE TIMES

While I was on holiday The Independent published a fascinating article on book cover design, under the cheeky heading Covered in Glory. The feature, by Jonathan Gibbs, describes the recent years as "a golden age" for book design, and sets this observation in the context of the perceived threat to the physical book (and the physical book cover) represented by the cyber-gizmos such as the Kindle, which are, many believe, poised Dalek-like on the brink of obliterating print.

Jonathan was kind enough to mention the Capuchin Classics as one of four reprint houses whose output exemplifies good book design. Jonathan says:

Capuchin Classics, by contrast, hark back to the classic Penguin "grid format", with bands of signature mint-green and original illustrations by Angela Landels. For Capuchin's editor-in-chief, Emma Howard, this aspect of the cover design was crucial. "We thought that using line drawings would be a refreshing antidote to the ghastly photographic covers that you see everywhere,".

The article is illustrated with many wonderful examples of the book cover art, including our own The Green Hat. This gem of a novel has become our best-selling title, and we are very excited by the forthcoming (January) publication of the same author's These Charming People.

David.