Hand-Painted Penguin Tri-Band Cover Design Template
Date
1948
Credits
- Jan Tschichold 3 Designer
Format
- Book Cover 283
Type of Work
- Process 105
Clients
Techniques
- painting 63
Locations Made
- United Kingdom 170
- London 20
- England 90
This hand-painted Penguin cover template was created by Jan Tschichold in 1948 and shows how modernist design principles were consciously adapted for mass-market consumption and commercialization. Tschichold’s simple ‘tri-band’ grid system demarcates the text placement and proportions. The layout standardized commercial book design and influenced publishing for the years to follow.
What makes this original mockup so significant is its nature as a working document. This shows Tschichold’s process of translating fixed modernist principles into accessible commercial design. The template demonstrates how subcultural design movements could be strategically altered for mainstream audiences while keeping their design integrity.
Tschichold's Penguin template on display at London's Isokon Gallery
Tschichold's hand-painted Penguin cover layout (detail)
Tschichold’s Penguin cover design samples