Q A with Coralie Bickford-Smith, Penguin Press

Coralie Bickford-Smith was one of the first book designers I mentioned on The Casual Optimist and her distinctive cover designs have featured regularly ever since. While Coralie’s work for Penguin clearly draws inspiration from the Arts Crafts Movement and British inter-war illustration and design, it never seems trite or conventional. There is always an asymmetry, angle, pattern, or colour combination that gives it an unexpected twist and lifts it out of the ordinary. Her covers