Artist shares how he created Penguin Random House's Playful Penguins campaign

Penguin Random House illustrations of a penguin doing different tasks like skateboarding and jumping or reading a book.

Penguin Random House's penguin is about as iconic as it gets. But now a new series of illustrations celebrates the famous bird with a series of other Playful Penguins, who are seen in a variety of situations.

The illustrations were created by Matt Blease and show an ensemble cast of penguins skateboarding, jumping and of course, reading. The iconic bird, known internally as 'Alan' won't be going anywhere, however. These new illos are designed to show up in seasonal campaigns, social initiatives to point-of-sale displays, and were created to bring some joy and life to the brand as it approaches its 100th anniversary. So it's not exactly a rebrand, but more of a glow up.