Penguin Books Designer David Pearson

Penguin, Great Ideas

Acclaimed book designer David Pearson seems to be a perfect fit at Penguin Books. By continuing their tradition of minimalism and abstraction, Pearson shows that a pocket paperback can still be an elegant object.  I stumbled across some of his amazing work on a rainy day at The Booksmith. Each cover of the “Great Ideas” series has it’s own unique design, specific to the theme of the book. The imagery is largely typographic, and stripped down to just two colors letterpressed into fine heavyweight paper. I was tempted to pick up Emerson, Kierkegaard, and Proust just on looks alone. David has worked on a number of other series including “Editions Zulma” and “Great Journeys”
David Pearson for Penguin Books 2
Penguin Books, Editions Zulma
David Pearson for Penguin Books 1
Penguin Books, Great Journeys

Besides creating award-winning work for Penguin, Pearson has his own firm with other huge clients like Ridley Scott Associates. You can see more of his work at David Pearson Design and on Flickr.

Josh Ellingson
Josh Ellingson

Josh Ellingson lives and works as an illustrator in San Francisco, California. In 1999, Ellingson graduated art school and headed west. Since then, Josh has contributed artwork to popular publications and websites worldwide and worked with clients ranging from toy makers to tequila companies.
In addition to his illustration and design business, Josh Ellingson is the director for The Local 303, a studio/collective of illustrators and designers in San Francisco, California. The Local 303 provides a professional working environment as well as a space for collaboration, critique and art exhibition. Josh Ellingson also contributes editorial writing and reviews to Hi-Fructose, a contemporary art and culture magazine.