Edward Preston Young
| Edward Young | |
|---|---|
Edward Young (right) and Telegraphist S Stain reading HMS/M Storm newspaper Good Evening
|
|
| Nickname(s) | Teddy |
| Born |
17 November 1913 San Fernando, Trinidad |
| Died | 28 January 2003 (aged 89) Littlehampton, Sussex |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch | Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve |
| Years of service | 1940–1945 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Commands held |
HMS P555 HMS Storm |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Service Cross & Bar Mentioned in Despatches |
| Other work | Graphic designer, author |
Edward Preston "Teddy" Young DSO, DSC & Bar (17 November 1913 – 28 January 2003) was a British graphic designer, submariner and publisher. In 1935 he joined the then new publishing firm of Penguin Books and was responsible for designing the cover scheme used by Penguin for many years as well as drawing the original penguin logo. During World War II he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) and became the first British RNVR officer to command a submarine. After the war he returned to the publishing world and eventually became managing director of the Rainbird Group. Having written his wartime biography, One Of Our Submarines, in 1952, he later wrote several other books.
Young was born in San Fernando, Trinidad, but he moved to London as a child. He was educated at Highgate School in London. At 18 he left school and joined publishers The Bodley Head, remaining with the firm until 1935 when he moved to join Penguin Books as production manager.
Penguin Books was newly formed in 1935 by Allen Lane. Previously managing director at Bodley Head, it was Lane who invited Young to join his new company. One of the first jobs given to Young was to go to London Zoo to make sketches of penguins to be used as the symbol for Penguin Books. Reportedly he returned from this job with the comment "My God, how those birds stink!" but the logo he drew appeared on all Penguin books until 1949. Along with Lane, Young also devised the highly recognisable colour schemes used by the firm on book covers; orange/white/orange for novels, green for crime and detective novels, and pale blue for the Pelican series. The designs were noted as classics in 2009 when the Royal Mail included Young's design in a series of stamps celebrating British design classics. Young left Penguin in 1939 to join The Reprint Society but left the society soon after with the outbreak of the war.
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