Penelope Anne "Penny" Sparke (born 6 November 1948) is a British writer and academic specialising in the history of design.
She has been Professor of Design History at Kingston University, London, since 1999, where she is also Director of the Modern Interiors Research Centre.
[1] She undertook postgraduate research at Brighton Polytechnic, and completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Design History in 1975.
[5] In 2010, Sparke’s book The Genius of Design was published to accompany a 5-part BBC Two television series under the same title which was broadcast in 2009.
[7][8] In 2007, Sparke, worked as a consultant for Pyrex helping with the communication project for their new cookware range designed by George Sowden.