A neat idea I saw the other day whilst in the Magma bookshop london, various literary works have been shrunk down in size and fitted into an even smaller cigarette packet, I can only imagine that this would be bought as a present as such a small format is pretty hard on the eyes.
From the publisher of the fashion magazine Tank, comes Tankbooks
From their website
“As one habit dies hard, another takes hold.
The ban on smoking in public places comes into operation in the UK on July 1, 2007. Tank is launching a series of books designed to mimic cigarette packs –
the same size, packaged in flip-top cartons with silver foil wrapping and sealed in cellophane.
TankBooks pay homage to this monumentally successful piece of packaging design by employing it in the service of great literature. Cigarette packs are iconic objects, familiar, tried and tested, and over time TankBooks will become iconic objects in their own right. The launch titles are by authors of great stature
– classic stories presented in classic packaging;
objects desirable for both their literary merit and their unique design.
TankBooks are for people on the move, lovers of literature and connoisseurs of design. Try one and you’ll be hooked.”
As part of the Holburn exhibition Bath of “50 years of Penguin” writer, designer and typographer Phil Baines discussed his favourite Penguin book covers taking us on a journey from the the original three striped cover through to the present with designs from David Pearson.
What I find interesting is how it can still maintain such a strong brand without it hardly being noticeable on most books, today the author is the brand as opposed to the publisher, some parts such as The Classics range maintains a strong look feel and identity while others are seen not to need it at all.
Phil suggests its about striking a balance, advertising is also used carefully, while others areas are seen not to need it so much, they found that during the early 90’s that branding worked against them, they were seen as being too bold and stuffy and so made a conscious decision to drop it in order to attract a younger market, now they’ve picked it up again and have begun to be more consistent with it, at the end of the day its about selling titles and as with many companies there is also deferring attitudes about how the branding should be used within its different departments.
