Penguin Essentials at The Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft

Between 6 January and 29 April 2018, we collaborated with The Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft to celebrate 20 years of Penguin Essentials, with 100 selected covers on display in the museum's unique Wunderkammer.

The Penguin Essentials series began in 1998 under the guidance of Art Director John Hamilton, and continues to celebrate this artistic heritage through a series of creative collaborations with contemporary designers, illustrators and artists such as Tomato (Anthony Burgess A Clockwork Orange), Banksy (Nick Cave And The Ass Saw The Angel) and Angie Lewin (Penelope Lively The Road to Lichfield). The result is an ongoing collection of innovative and diverse book designs that stand as a shining example of imagery, typography and layout.

The original artists and designers Hamilton chose often hadn’t designed book jackets before and were not locked into the norms and formulae of cover design. 20 years later he has carefully selected 100 of his own favourites showcasing the ground-breaking designs, with an additional selection of books from our archives showcasing our own unique design heritage.

Featured in the video: John Hamilton, Richard Bravery, Chris Bentham, Daniel Prescott-Bennett

Please note that this video does contain strobe lighting.