You can't tell a book just by looking at the cover,  goes the song. Catchy tune; groovy rhythm; but not  exactly so. At least not in the sphere of book publishing where DART readers prowl.

Maybe that's what Paul Buckley, Executive Vice President/Creative Director at Penguin Group had in mind when he set out to do a book called Penguin 75: Designers | Authors | Commentary. Here the process of making a book look and feel right for its readers is unpacked, with commentary from art directors, designers, and - what really makes this book unique - the authors, who have toiled long and hard to craft something they believe in.

Left to right: Brighton Rock by Graham Green, Paul Buckley, Designer/Art Director | Brian Cronin, Illustrator. The First Word by Christine Kenneally, Paul Buckley, Art Director | Greg Mollica, Designer | Nicholas Blechman, Illustrator. The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kurieshi, Paul Buckley, Art Director | Darren Haggar, Designer. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee, Paul Buckley, Art Director; Jasmine Lee, Designer; Frances McLaughlin-Gill, Photographer. Courtesy Penguin Group.

In the Foreword, Chris Ware says, "As a graphic novelist, I fell into book design out of necessity, just as I fell into typography and printmaking. As a technical requirement of the style I'd chosen to tell my stories, I learned the work piecemeal, and probably poorly. Thus, the design-savvy reader should be aware: I probably have little idea what I'm talking about. It seems to me a book design should be inevitable - a book demands its own shape just as an oak sprouts from an acorn and a pine from a cone. A book is a body in which a story lives and breathes, and like a body, it has a spine, is bigger on the inside than it is out the outside, and it isn't going to go on many dates unless it can hold up its end of the conversation. If it does find its way into our life, a book can also be a companion, and sometimes a life-changing one."

Paul leads us into this world with a practiced view of its nerve center. "Publishers and editors are used to hearing art directors and designers moan endlessly about their best work being passed over by the philistines that surround them on all sides. They're also used to hearing from the authors about how there is no way the designer read the material and this lousy cover will surely bury the author's career. Then these poor editors and publishers have to gently navigate us through, hopefully, to a good conclusion for all. Beautiful designs flourish. And massive book sales soon follow," he continues. "Probably. Not really. Okay, sometimes. But never as often as we'd all like."

If this is the kind of conversation that would rock your day, then this is your lucky week. Paul Buckley will be joined this Thursday by man of letters, and moderator, Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich; author A.M. Holmes (This Book Will Save Your Life); book jacket designer Gregg Kulick; and designer/illustrator Jim Tierney for a celebration of the creme de la creme of Penguin book design.

Penguin 75, Thursday, October 28^th, 6:30-8:30 pm. Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12^th Street, NY, NY. This is an AIGA/NY event, with tickets at $30/$20/$10. Register here.

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