Abstract:

In the late 1940s, book publishers like Penguin desired the best typographic expertise in Europe and offered designers unprecedented artistic discretion. When Penguin Books publisher Allen Lane (1902-70) appointed Jan Tschichold (1902-74), he may have been unaware that his new hire would set the standard for successful book design in Britain over the next three years. Tschichold’s redesign of Penguin Books from 1947-49 revolutionized typographic conventions.