Cardon Philip Webb

If you ever want a great source of beautifully designed book covers, hook up with an academic. The shelves in Dr B's office are bowing under the strain of gorgeous books and journals dating back decades, all with abstract graphic depictions of the complex ideas contained within. I'm slightly ashamed that she has more Pelican books than me. Good ones too. So I'm sure this new series of Oliver Sacks' key texts will soon be making an appearance on those shelves.

Designed by Vintage Books' in-houser Cardon Philip Webb, they're all sorts of pretty. My favourite is Migraine, simply because I'm a sucker for greyscale and yellow plus geometry (don't even get me started on Jon Gray's cover for The New York Trilogy). If Dr B gets them, I'll see if I can merge them into my own collection (shsh, don't tell her – this can be our little secret, okay?). Heck, I might even read one.

So yes, designers: get yourself an academic today. A valuable source of bookly goodness and intellectually intimidating, barely comprehensible conversation.

Found via Co.Design.