Penny Sparke

Who is Penny Sparke?

Penny Sparke is a British writer and academic specialising in the history of design.

She studied French Literature at Sussex University between 1967 and 1971 and completed her PhD in Design History in 1975. She taught Design History at Brighton Polytechnic until 1982 and at the Royal College of Art in London between 1982 and 1999.

Sparke has written 15 books about Twentieth-Century Design. She has also curated a number of exhibitions, including The Plastics Age at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1990. Since 1999 she has also been a Professor of Design History at Kingston University, London. In 2007 Penny Sparke worked as a consultant for Pyrex helping with the communication project for their new cookware range designed by George Sowden.