Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Books do furnish a room: White's Books



We all judge books by their covers; we may not mean to, but we do. A recent article in the London Independent on the art of book cover design raises many valid points, not least "there's no doubt that recent years have seen a golden age of book design."
Partly this is a case of big publishers relying on brilliant design to make their goods stand out in an increasingly difficult market; but partly, too, it's a case of small, independent publishers springing up to provide a certain kind of reader with what they want, more than ever: the book as beautiful, covetable, keep-able object.

And none more covetable than White's Books. Set up by Penguin designer David Pearson (he of the Great Ideas series), White's Books are redesigning the classics, commissioning illustrators as diverse as Radiohead's cover artist Stanley Donwood and fashion illustrator Petra Boner (for Louis Vuitton) to produce exquisite fine hardcover editions that can only become future collectables.

You can read an interview with Pearson talking about White's Books in Creative Review, while Apartment Therapy share some of the wonderful covers. Better yet, Chapters have a selection of White's Books in store. Why not treat yourself to some affordable luxury?

[ST]

No comments:

Post a Comment