Back to archive
Art Direction · 2023
Format Books
An independent press with a point of view.
- Client
- Format Books
- Year
- 2023
- Category
- Art Direction
- Services
- Art Direction · Cover System · Typography
§ Overview
Format Books publishes essays on design, technology, and culture. The founders wanted covers that read as a series — without looking like a template.
01 / Problem
Indie presses live or die by the table at the front of the bookstore. Format's early covers were beautiful but inconsistent — booksellers couldn't group them.
02 / Approach
We designed a cover system, not a template. A fixed grid, a fixed typeface, a flexible color logic tied to each book's subject matter. Unmistakable on the shelf, still surprising.
03 / Solution
A modular cover system. A custom serif for titles. A logo that lives in the spine so the series reads down a shelf.
04 / Outcome
First print run of the debut title sold through in nine days. Picked up by three international distributors.
Visual gallery.
2 frames
