Coralie Bickford-Smith

Please judge these books by their covers. Design geeks and bookworms alike have fallen in love with Bickford-Smith's beautiful -- and thoughtful -- work. "The challenge is to entice a new audience to the literature and also to not alienate die-hard fans," she says. To re-create a collection of Penguin Classics -- think Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations -- the London-based designer chose Victorian-style cloth bindings that feature stamped patterns pointed to each book's content (for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, flamingos). An F. Scott Fitzgerald series features metallic art deco designs. "I want these books to be cherished like the literature inside," says Bickford-Smith of her obsessive attention to detail. "If something is well considered, it will entice. People want to explore it, feel it. That design shines through and connects."