Vibrant pattern design by Sam Coldy for Penguin’s On the Page campaign

The publishing house only recently celebrated its 80th birthday by launching a range of its classic titles for 80p each, accompanied by a slick website and a poster campaign which has reached even the furthest corners of London’s transport system. And right now, they’re in the midst of a new campaign called On the Page which celebrates women authors and characters in literary masterpieces.

 

The publisher wisely recruited graphic artist and art director Sam Coldy to create the visuals for the series, whose solution to the brief was to create a set of distinctly “unisex” artworks in bright, vibrant marks. There’s something inexplicably attractive about seeing traditionally hand-applied media – watercolour paints and pencil lines, for example – on a bright screen backed by a light source, making the whole series irresistible. Sam’s characteristically vibrant pattern design overlaid with the Penguin logo feels like a natural fit, let alone when the two are paired with wisdom from the likes of Louisa May Alcott and Virginia Woolf. Keep it up, Penguin!