Penguin UK hardback editions of Fitzgerald’s works designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith.

Design:Related has an in depth interview with Penguin Senior Designer Coralie Bickford-Smith, whom I have mentioned on Modcult several times in the past.

It touches on her education (she was originally interested in a combined religious studies and design degree), dyslexia, design covers for classics like War of the Worlds and other classics, and working within constraints.

Pictured above is her gorgeous design for the recently published deluxe hardcover version of The Arabian Nights.

Once again, I am begging Penguin (or Amazon) to find a way to get these books to the US market. I would pick up these books or the “Gothic Reds” series in a heartbeat.

(Side note: I’ve had this sitting in the post queue for awhile, and flat out missed Halloween.)

The new covers for Penguin Classic’s Gothic Reds series really pop off the shelf. Coralie Bickford-Smith, a senion designer at Penguin whose work I’ve posted before, is responsible.

Penguin has posted a video interview with her on their blog, in which she discusses the cyanotype process and sources for some of the individual covers, including the use of her Ikea kitchen knife on Ambrose Bierce’s The Spook House.

I think the title selection here is excellent as well, since it veers towards the lesser known work of some of these authors (well, besides Poe).

Can Penguin please start making these available in the US? Otherwise, I’m going to be forced to order these from Amazon UK.

More Penguin cookery book covers can be found here.