Penguin books is releasing a deluxe collection of various literary classics and remaining faithful to their high standards, they've commissioned the covers' work to some great graphic artists. The idea is to have this beautifully designed editions as collectable items, thus the importance of a brilliant cover. Such is the case of the new edition of the Kamasutra with illustrations by French illustrator Malika Favre, who accomplishes to create a cover that without being distasteful is very artsy-explicit. As herself puts it:
I was approached last summer by Paul Buckley at Penguin US about designing the cover of a new Deluxe edition of the Kama Sutra for Penguin.
The book itself is the original text written by Vatsyayana (no pictures inside the book) so the challenge was to make the cover sexy, modern and daring without being vulgar or over the top. I decided to create a very bold and playful alphabet that would run across both flaps and front and back cover spelling KAMA SUTRA.
The illustrations really accomplish to channel the nature of the book without being vulgar (which can be very easily done) and still having a very strong look to them. The colors chosen for the illustrations are a nod to classical Indian aesthetic but keeping it vibrant and simple. The artist's style really comes through in this cover with its mix of explicitness and playful look. It's definitely a beautiful edition that will make you look! You can see the rest of Penguin's Graphic Classics here.
