Penguin obviously think so too, as they've commissioned her to create letterforms for the covers for their new Penguin Drop Caps classics series: 26 deluxe paperback editions of classics books, chosen for the initial letters of the authors' surnames. For example, the first three books are by Austen, Bronte (Charlotte) and Cather: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre and My Antonia. Click for bigger versions of the first six books... (All cover designs by Jessica Hische and Paul Buckley).
As you can see, the spines will match, and the changing colours of the set will create a full spectrum by the end.
I'm in two minds about this set: on the one hand, they will undoubtedly be gorgeous, while on the other they are probably entirely unnecessary (this will be Penguin's 235,623th in-print edition of P&P, for example); but then, the classics are probably getting harder to shift in these days of free public domain ebooks, so making the paper versions as pretty as possible is probably the way to go.
As for Jessica Hische, she has an extensive set of beautiful type-centric book cover designs in her portfolio. Here are some of my favourites, starting with different desigsn for two of the classics above, these versions done for Barnes & Noble. Click an image for much larger versions.
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| An as-yet unpublished project by Hische herself |
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| Above and below, a pair of dramatic, Jazz Age designs |
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| I wasn't sure whether to risk Eggers again after some disappointing past experiences, but this cover design has pushed me into spending my money |
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| Sadly, not yet a real cover: part of the Lolita Cover Project |
