Penguin Book Covers - Marber Research

Eye Magazine

Penguin books aim to bring information from the masters to the masses and make information accessible to all. Penguin have a reputation for having quality material and became desirable things to have.

Marbers new design was robust enough to be transferable to other Penguin ranges such as the Pelicans and Penguin Fiction. The design had a methodical layout with thought put into what was necessary for it to function in its simplest form, with the image taking centre stage and using the swiss style of clarity of elements. The green which was previously used was updated in a fresher shade which was more modern. Two thirds of the image was used for the image allowing it to be the focus of the cover. Akzidenz Grotesk was used to reflect Gills previous typeface making it clear and legible. Although Marber was keen on Swiss typography their use of grids he felt were too structured which did not provide enough movement within the design.

The grid was adaptable to suit the needs and information present for each book, for example the placement of the title and authors name would change based on their length. Having a good understanding of the content of each book was important in Marbers work and allowed him to summarise the books to create strong simple covers. A range of media were used to create the covers such as photography, drawing and collage. By creating multiple covers at a time, they become less precious, which allows the work to develop itself rather than forcing every work to be a good design. The use of a structured grid juxtaposes against the experimental techniques used in the images. This also reflected the contrasting themes of order and chaos represented in the stories. 

Penguin Book Sleeves - Romek Marber

Marber Timeline

-        Romek Marber was born in Poland in 1925

-        In 1945 World War II ended and the death camps were liberated  

-        Marber arrived in Britain in 1946 to be reunited with his father and brother

-        He applied for an educational grant for painting from ‘The Committee for the Education of Poles in Great Britain’ however the Committee only awarded grants for the study of applied arts

-        In 1949 Marber enrolled at St Martins School of Art to study Commercial Art

-        In 1953  he studied Graphic Design at the Royal College of Art

-        During the 1960s Marber designed covers for the Economist

-        During this time he also produced covers for the New Society

-        Germano Facetti became the new Penguins art director and in 1961 noticed Marber’s work for the Economist and asked him to design covers for Our Language and Language in the Modern World by Simeon Potter.

-        In 1961 Marber was asked to create a proposal for the Penguin Crime Series, this led to the development of Marbers grid.

-        Herbert Spencer wrote an article in Typographica Magazine, in 1962, which discussed the history and development of Penguin cover designs . In this article individual designs were credited to Marber however the overall grid system was attributed to Facetti. Facetti immediately wrote in and Spencer corrected his previous article in length.

-        Penguin changed their policy so that authors who had multiple titles would have pictorial identification

-        Marbers work for Penguin led to many offers of work, one of which was an article about the Mafia in the Queen magazine.

-        The success of Marber’s grid was later transferred to Penguins Blue Pelican covers and their Orange Fiction covers

-        In 1963 Alan Aldridge became the new art director of fiction and Penguin made a move away from Marber’s Grid

-        After becoming disengaged with designing crime covers he took a break for a few years

-        Between 1963 and 1964 Marber was the art director for the Observer Magazine

-        He was asked by Penguin to design six covers for Angus Wilsons Novels in the new house style which separated illustrators and designers.  

Penguin Book Covers - Marber Research

Creative Review

The Penguin Crime grid was created in 1961 by Romek Marber and was later used for the Fiction and Pelican Series showing its suitability for a range of applications . Marber wanted it to be functional and transferable which meant allowing enough space for the idea to be conveyed. Informed by the Swiss Style he aimed to find the simplest way for all the information to be portrayed.

When creating his images he focused on developing an idea rather than working towards an out outcome, allowing the process to create something new and therefore, leading to a better outcome.

During his time at the Royal College of Art he studied Graphic Design where you could study Illustration or Design. However he comments how he does not class himself as an illustrator which is interesting because this must have influenced him.

The practice of drawing allowed him to plan and formulate ideas and photography also was an important part in his process. His experimentation with different mediums allowed him to adjust and play with his images.

His work for the Economist had a minimal colour scheme of red and black with white space to create high contrast. The publication was printed using traditional letterpress which influenced the overall aesthetic and possible design outcomes. The covers reflected the culture and climate of the 60s which was concerning for many.

The designs were created all by hand with traditional techniques with the focus being on speed of production. This meant that he was not precious about his work and instead this allowed for more experimental work to be produced.  Through the use of simple materials in conjunction with one another and making use of what was around him allowed him to create his works. Photography played a key part in the creation of his work.

Penguin’s previous cover designs had a different layout from book to book which was creating a confused identity for the company. It was decided that the titles in the Penguin Crime books were to be brought together into a cohesive series using a new cover layout which would create clarity across the series. The design was structured for all standard elements to be placed similarly across books, with the image taking up three quarters of the design space which provided enough adaptable space for the image. This made the design functional for commissioned work from a range of disciplines and allowed enough space for an idea to be conveyed.  By having similar features across cover designs he was able to signify books by the same author.