Penguin Books is an English publishing house that has passed the tests of time. For the past 70 years, when you see their book covers, you instantly know who published it. From the very beginning, Penguin Books had its business model and kept it over time, despite the upheavals in the publishing world: they invented paperback books in England.
They have kept the same business model since 1935 while thoughtfully expanding their offer (for example, founder Allen Lane initially saw beyond the distribution channels of the time and started targeting train stations). They also kept the same approach for the book-cover designs—and we all know how important the cover is for book sales!
For the record, the name “Penguin” was suggested by the secretary, Joan Coles, after more formal options had been rejected. The logo was drawn by an employee, following an outing to the London Zoo… makes you start to wonder if our existence as a design studio is not futile (but if you ask us, we have excellent—and convincing!—answers to give you).
For a lot of their books, the cover design did not change between 1935 and 2008. The two coloured stripes, the logo, the title on a white background, etc. Proof that, in certain cases, it is a good idea to resist the temptation of a visual makeover when the established brand equity goes beyond the need to be trendy (but they eventually did, so the story goes).
For example, we’ve recently finished refreshing the identity of one of our clients, Arborite, founded in 1948, 60 years ago. Company regulars alone will notice the change in the logo (but the work we’ve been doing over the passed 5 years is quite remarkable). Following our analysis of the old logo’s efficiency, we opted for a few minor visual changes as opposed to a complete overhaul. Sometimes it just isn’t necessary to make a big fuss.
(via Brandgym Blog)
