OUGD503 - Responsive - Penguin Books - Romek Marber -Creative Review

Romek Marber is regarded as one of the most influential designers that worked for Penguin Books over the years his designs wear both graphic in style and portrayed an almost surrealist and obscured view of the books content. The use of three singular colours throughout the designs became a signature style within Marbers designs. 

Marber created a grid system Penguin that is regarded as the Marber Grid. Using this uniform grid allows the reader to see the important content, name of book/writer and not taking anything away from the artwork of the covers. The crime grid, as Romek explained is about giving illustrators the freedom to do their work without taking away from the content.

In the interview Romek Marber explains that this image illustrates flexibility in the grid and how a picture can encroach on the white area of the cover without affecting the style. The photo has been combined with a dribble of black ink to give the image an ominous and creepy feeling. This slight abstraction in Marbers work insure the crime theme is portrayed.

Marber explains this cover was informed by looking through a pane of ribbed glass, the people passing by looked as if they were sliced into moving segments. Thinking about using everyday objects and seeing how they change the communication of images could be a way of making sure my designs stand out. 

The use of negative space within both of these covers gives the designs an extra dimension of intrigue. 

The case of the substitute face, this cover features Romek himself in the photography abstracted again showing a strange and unconventional cover. 

Marber explains for the cover of 'Death of a stray cat' simply using black paper and charcoal gave the impression of sea shore and mystery.

Romek explains that after his penguin works he became a real figure head of the crime and violence book cover designs. This image shows the this crime style, the typography and mood in the images in particular have been really inspiring. This collage style is something to reflect in my workings.

These two covers Romek explains are for Fiction books for Penguin. The collage and photography imagery used previously would not be appropriate as it seemed to forceful association with the crime novels so Marber elected for drawing, the use of white red and blue were used to represent the French flag as all the novels took place in France. 









This style seen in Marber's work portrays a similar style of crime and mystery displayed in both 'In Cold Blood' and 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. Due to this a similar 'crime novel' style is appropriate for this brief.