Jackets Off

Alice Beniero is art director and illustrator living and working in Italy. She studied Industrial Design at Politecnico in Milan, with a Master Degree in Graphic Design.SheI was art director at Isbn Edizioni, an award winning publishing house based in Milan. In 2015 she attended a Residency Program at School of Visual Arts (New York) in Illustration and Visual Storytelling.

She is Professor in Editorial Illustration. She works for several clients including Moleskine, Mondadori, Rizzoli, 24Ore Cultura, Aspen Institute, Marsilio, il Saggiatore, DeA Planeta. 

PAUL BUCKLEY is Senior VP Executive Creative Director within Penguin Random House and oversees a large staff of exceptionally talented designers and art directors working on the jackets and covers of eleven imprints within the Penguin Random House publishing group. Over the past two decades, his iconic design and singular art direction have been showcased on thousands of covers and jackets, winning him many awards and frequent invitations to speak in the United States and abroad. In 2017, he edited and introduced Classic Penguin – Cover to Cover, and in 2010, he edited and introduced Penguin 75. 

I was born around 50 years ago in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I studied Industrial Design in Milan, with a strong passion for graphic design. I’ve been working on the jackets and book covers for 3 imprints at Mondadori Libri Publishing Group for over 20 years. 

Jon Gray (AKA gray318) is one of the most celebrated book designers in the world. He has designed and illustrated book covers for publishers around the world and for some of the biggest names in literature. His work famously adorns books by Jonathan Safran Foer (recall the red hand of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close), Zadie Smith, David Foster Wallace, A.M Homes and Roald Dahl. He is co-founder of the Academy of British Cover Design. Aside from his book design work, Gray has worked on marketing campaigns from some of the world’s biggest brands, including Nike, the Berlin Opera and The New York Times.

Steven Heller wears many hats (in addition to the New York Yankees): For 33 years he was an art director at the New York Times, originally on the OpEd Page and for almost 30 of those years with the New York Times Book Review. Currently, he is co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author Department, Special Consultant to the President of SVA for New Programs, and writes the Visuals column for the New York Times Book Review. The author, co-author, and/or editor of over 100 books on design and popular culture, Heller has worked with a score of publishers, including Chronicle Books, Allworth Press, Harry N. Abrams, Phaidon Press, Taschen Press, Abbeville Press, Thames & Hudson, Rockport, Northlight, and more.