‘Good design is no more expensive than bad,’ said publisher Allen Lane when he launched the first Penguin paperbacks in 1935. Since then the original Penguin tri-band, colour-coded cover, created by Edward Young, has become a part of Britain’s design heritage, recognised around the world and now loved by a whole new generation. The Penguin Books original tri-band colour coding related to the book genre, including orange for fiction, green for crime fiction and purple for essays. The blue Pelican imprint was for educational books.
