Much of publishing is quite conservative. One’s subjective design work lands on the table where editors look to publishers, and publishers look to marketing directors. Meanwhile, the designer and art director look at each other wild-eyed, hoping that the nervous individual on the other side of the table is not the first to weigh in with their fears. Fear is the killer of great work, the beast that always wants the last word, right or wrong, and almost always the latter.
Fun on the other hand is the tool of the brave, the folks in a room that instantly smile in unison and say “YES! Let's do this!”.
That is exactly what I have with my Penguin editorial team, and I know how rare that is, and that is why I stick around; to be around people who find joy in the process."
Paul Buckley is a Senior Vice President, Executive Creative Director at Penguin Random House where he conducts a large staff of exceptionally talented designers and art directors overseeing ten imprints called The Penguin Art Group. Paul also personally designs and art directs for a few of the imprints under his umbrella, and is directly responsible for the branding of authors big and small. His iconic design and singular art direction has been showcased on thousands of books, winning many awards and invitations to speak around the globe. Aside from books Paul has designed posters for ICON/The Illustration Conference, The Society of Illustrators, and We The People at 41 Cooper Gallery NYC. Paul has also created illustrations for print and online publications, book covers, and shirts. He and his wife Ingsu split their time between Bucks County PA, where they live along a lovely canal, and Brooklyn NY, where the food is so much better.
Mimaster Milan, AIGA, Parsons NYC, SOI, and very frequently for the School of Visual Arts (SVA) NYC where he often mentors graduate students, and quite a few for the Type Directors Club NYC.
• Cooper Hewitt-Smithsonian Design Museum
• London Design Museum
• Creativity Magazine
• Print Magazine
• Advertising Age
• Type Director’s Club
• Art Director’s Club
• How Magazine
• Communication Arts
• 50 Books 50 Covers
• Graphis
• Entertainment Weekly
• The New York Times
• D&AD
• Photo District News
• American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA)
• Featured In Books By Steven Heller & Mirko Ilic
• Numerous National & Intl. Publications
• Society of Illustrators Silver and Gold Medals
Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, Communication Arts, The Advertising Club of Canada, Creativity magazine, Santa Fe Photographic Workshop, Palm Springs Photo Festival, Photo Plus Expo NYC, Photolucida Portland, PhotoNOLA New Orleans
A showcase Paul co-created along with designer and artist Mirko Ilic, traveled through Europe and ended at the New York Type Director’s Club.
Paul spent a week in Beijing giving lectures and book signings at: PS-One, Page One Bookstore, RDV Bookstore, Paragon bookstore & gallery, Jiazuoshuju bookstore, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, and the Communication University of China. Paul was interviewed by media outlets China Publishing Today, The Publisher, The Beijing News, and Mono.
Paul's hand-illustrated Penguin Horror series was shown as a part of Museum of Modern Art's Crafting Pinocchio event for Guillermo del Toro.