Penguin is releasing new editions of five of books by George Orwell, with covers by designer David Pearson. Perhaps the best of the new designs is Pearson’s simple but brilliant idea for 1984, with the title and author’s name apparently censored with black foiling.
The black bars only obscure the text at a glance, however; they’ll still be visible in the right light. Pearson acknowledges that the design is a bit risky, but it’s a dramatic look, almost as if some government ministry had tried to hide the book from the public.
