This limited-edition artist book by Astrid Chesney brings together over 200 illustrations, each alive with character, narrative, and expressive intensity. It opens the door to a richly imagined world where masquerade and folklore intertwine, revealed through striking faces and an unrestrained visual language. With only 100 hand-numbered copies, every edition is a singular object. No two covers, backs, or spines are alike, making each book a unique entry point into Chesney’s creative universe.

Set in the bold and spirited Droulers typeface, the book’s design by HONDO becomes an extension of the artwork itself. Custom page numbers take the form of playful face pictograms, weaving seamlessly through the pages and reinforcing the book’s performative, almost theatrical character. The dust jacket unfolds into a signed and numbered poster, transforming packaging into a collectible artifact that reflects the artist’s meticulous craft.

The publication is accompanied by an exhibition of Chesney’s original works, offering an immersive glimpse into her studio practice and the narratives behind the masks. A suite of promotional materials, developed in the same vivid visual language, carries the experience beyond the book, expanding Chesney’s world into physical space.

Eugenio Perazza, founder of Magis, has written a book, designed by studio òbelo and published by Rizzoli in Italian and English editions. An intimate and passionate account of design through the episodes that have shaped the author’s personal and professional journey.

With carefully chosen words, Perazza brings us aboard a journey that traces the birth of Magis, the encounters with great designers of the past, the successful projects and those that didn’t work out.

Three husbands had died mysteriously at Mallory Hall. Was Janet about to become the fourth widow?

Fawcett Gold Medal Books published The Curse of Mallory Hall, a novel by Dorothy Daniels (1915–2001), in two cover variants. One (shown above) exclusively features Oz Cooper’s Cooper Black Italic (1926). The other (below) goes a little harder: here, the title is set in the italic style of Benguiat Cooper Black Swash, a variant by Ed Benguiat that adds extra weight and swagger.

Quirinale is the typeface used for a 1980 album of Gustav Holst’s The Planets as performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra with conductor Seiji Ozawa (1935–2024). The standard cover features a photograph by Ruud Nooy, showing a golden statue of Mercury with winged hat and money bag in the right hand.

The same typography in a different arrangement was used for an alternate cover, this time together with an image of Earth, Moon (?), and a space probe, possibly Pioneer 10.

[More info on Discogs]

Alternate cover made as a promo and/or for the Japanese market

Front

“My Prerogative” is a single from Britney Spears’ similarly-titled album Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, released on September 21, 2004 by Jive Records. The art direction and design is credited to Jackie Murphy and Courtney Walter, with photography by Kathryn Indiek.

The artist’s name uses Anime Pornstar, a free font created by Jason Harlan of Eternal Maelstrom Studios. The single title uses all-caps Compacta, in an angled box similar to the corresponding album. Other text uses Alternate Gothic.

[More info on Discogs]

Inside

Alternate version

Front cover

Augustea Open is the typeface used on the cover of New Traditionalists. The fourth studio album by Devo was released on September 16, 1981 by Warner Bros. Records.

From Wikipedia:

The front and back cover were photographed by Moshe Brakha and feature artwork by Richard Seireeni, based on a concept by the band. The band's clothing, also worn during live performances, was influenced by Japanese fashion, while the rubber pompadours, created by Brent Scrivner, were based on the hairstyle of John F. Kennedy but were frequently mistaken for that of Ronald Reagan. Casale’s longheld interest in the space program led to the band using a cartoon image of an astronaut’s head from a paper Halloween mask in the artwork, which was later reused for the limited edition “Beautiful World” picture disc.

The band wore blue V-neck T-shirts with the New Traditionalists astronaut on the black sleeves. This shirt can be seen on the US, Australian and New Zealand versions of the album cover. On the European cover, Devo is seen wearing “Sleeveless Maxi-Turtleneck Sweaters”. The T-shirts, turtlenecks and plastic versions of the pompadours were all available through Devo’s fan club catalog.

Design concept by DEVO INC. with art direction by Seireeni and graphics by Fran “Narf” Fresquez.

[More info on Discogs]

Back cover

Alternate front cover used for European markets

The monograph Seçkin Pirim 2000–2024 offers a comprehensive selection of Seçkin Pirim’s œuvre from the early 2000s to the present, tracing the evolution of his practice from the beginning of his career to today.

Each editioned copy of the publication features a unique cover designed and executed by Pirim himself as an original extension of his artistic practice. Structured around a chronological examination of Pirim’s œuvre in three periods, the book does not treat these phases as isolated or independent stages, but rather as a continuum of constant evolution shaped by the artist’s ongoing inquiries and explorations into the art of sculpture.

Enriched by curator Tommaso Tovaglieri’s analysis of the transformations in Pirim’s work and art historian Ebru Nalan Sülün’s essay situating the artist’s production within the history of sculpture in Turkey, the book also features Pirim’s personal reflections on each period as well as selected excerpts from previously published texts on his work. Edited by Erdem İlgi Akter, published as a bilingual edition in Turkish and English, the book stands out as a collector’s item.

The artwork featuring conjoined twins on a see-saw was conceived by photographer Glen Wexler.

A rare appearance of Leonardo Hand spotted on Balance, Van Halen's last album featuring Sammy Hagar on vocals. The design itself screams a few 1990s clichés (early Photoshop abuse, Trajan for main titles) but has survived well in the band’s cannon.

The Leonardo font is based on the handwriting of Leonardo da Vinci. It brings back the work of American artist Judith Sutcliffe, who founded Electric Typographer in the mid-1980s transitioning from phototype to a full collection of digital fonts that were released by Daniel Will-Harris in the early 1990s.

[More info on Discogs]

Alternate cover made for the Japanese market, where depicting human deformities was a cultural stigma

The CD label features Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing Vitruvian Man.

Esquire Italia’s creative direction was renewed and redesigned by Cabinet Milano and Dual Room under the direction of Giovanni Audiffredi, with fashion direction by Nik Piras. The updated direction, seen in issues Nº 31 to 37, balances contemporary elegance with the magazine’s bold editorial voice, unifying fashion, culture, and design through a sharper visual language and cohesive art direction.

As the main typeface, Maligne by Maxitype, a geometric sans inspired by 20th-century letter painters, serves both display and text roles, while OT Kairo by Omnitype provides a complementary serif counterpart.

Kamenyar is used in body text, with Trembita for headers and captions. The sans on the cover is Suisse Int’l. KyivType Serif features for the “Outside of Ukraine” chapter opening.

From Slanted Publishers:

This Slanted issue is not about war. Instead, it delves into the lives of remarkable individuals within the creative industry in and hailing from Ukraine, as they endeavor to maintain a semblance of normalcy amidst their diligent efforts. This narrative underscores the inseparable bond between culture and design, raising the question of its feasibility.

During the NEED conference in Warsaw in early September 2023, the Ukrainian delegation motivated the Slanted team to initiate a magazine dedicated to the Ukrainian design sphere, advocating that “better now than never!” Without their invaluable assistance, input, and valor, such an endeavor would have been inconceivable. The editorial policy refrains from producing issues centered on a city or country if physical presence isn’t feasible, as the essence of a place cannot truly be captured from a distance. However, with each new connection established, the palpable tension among individuals becomes increasingly apparent, underscoring the universal impact of current circumstances.

The sheer volume of nearly 1,500 submissions was overwhelming, and the selection process inherently subjective. Despite meticulous deliberations, every decision, formulation, and work runs the risk of being perceived as flawed, insufficient, or misunderstood. The compilation features 20 interviews with designers and creatives both within and beyond Ukraine, offering diverse insights, responses, and perspectives.

Many of the showcased works and texts reflect upon the ongoing war, which has persisted for over two years. Despite this, there remains a glimmer of hope for its resolution, with a collective aspiration for design discourse to eventually transition to other topics. This issue serves as a significant contemporary time capsule, a testament to the profound impact of design, and an expression of Slanted Publishers’ unwavering commitment to this cause.

The magazine features three different covers by with artworks by Mykola Kovalenko, Dasha Podoltseva, and Anna Sarvira.

The Lovers Guide to Sensuous Astrology was written by astrologers and psychics Marlowe & Urna Gray and published by Signet in 1974.

Cover variant used for the tenth printing

This new artwork, again utilising false colours and solarising post imaging effects, employs inanityUKMusic’s ‘house’ fonts, Bauhaus 93 and Trajan. For the main track title, I used Proxima Nova, one of the official typefaces of Los Angeles City.

The lower use of the font is in a variety of sizes, mainly due to my poor visual skills. I tried a fix and it seems to not have worked.

The music is a response to the incredible scenes on TV news currently coming from Los Angeles.

The art is garish but contains a selected series of frames of TV footage of a skateboarder walking from exploding tear gas canisters before turning to deliver his rebuke.

The music is a funk/blues-rock vibe – I hope anyone in Los Angeles might appreciate the small gesture of solidarity it is intended to convey. You can listen to it at Old Magnolia Studios.

This image shows a revision of the artwork for “Angeles City Blues“. I preferred the more simpler yet more vivid graphic work. The entire piece of music remains the same, but I added as a bonus the working early mixes with their own art. The layout has be tidied up regarding the placement of track title and info. The fonts remains the same: Trajan Pro, Bauhaus 93, Proxima Nova.

Decca SLK 16834-P. Ted Heath’s name is in Univers; the track list in Akzidenz-Grotesk.

Ted Heath (1902–1969) was a British big band leader. His 1967 album Swing Is King was issued in a number of cover variants. The image above shows what I believe to be the original design. The photo depicts royal insignia – crown, orb and scepter – on a throne, surrounded by musical instruments, with red curtains in the back. Above, the title is set in capitals from an ornamented typeface. It’s Karnac, which originated at the Dickinson Type Foundry in Boston in 1884, and was adopted for phototypesetting by VGC in 1967. The typeface choice continues the theme of regal pomp. It certainly helped that some of the ornamentation in John F. Cumming’s design echoes the fleurs-de-lis seen on the crown.

The variant shown below is an example of a fine cover ruined by series design: someone at Decca/London Records decided that it additionally had to feature the large numeral 4 from the Phase 4 Stereo design (cf. Chacksfield Plays the Beatles’ Song Book). The already complex photo is now cut up by thick white lines. And there wasn’t enough space left at the top, so the title had to be crammed into the small field at the top left. Too much elements, and too little space for Karnac to breathe.

A German reissue from 1969 (last image) replaces Karnac with Moore Swash, a VGC original by James H. Moore and shows the artist’s name in Times New Roman. For some reason, the photograph was mirrored for this variant.

[More info on Discogs]

London Records SP 44104. The track names are here set in Trade Gothic.

The gatefold has the liner notes set in Trade Gothic Condensed, with the numeral 4 shown in negative. The text about Phase 4 Stereo on the right uses Century Schoolbook. Lowercase Futura serves for the heading.

Decca DS 3198/1-2 double LP

The standard album cover for The Normal Album.

Pictured is Musician Will Wood leaning out of a window waving, surrounded by a black border on a retro zig-zag line image pattern design reminiscent of the 1950s. “Will Wood” and “The Normal Album” are displayed in URW Antiqua, and the pink promotional sticker's slogan displayed in a modified version of New York. The sticker reads “INCLUDES THE HIT SINGLE ‘LOVE, ME NORMALLY!’ AND MORE NEW, ORIGINAL SONGS!”

The Normal Album is Will Wood’s third studio album, released July 10th, 2020. The album’s genres range from ska, punk, jazz, cabaret, surf rock, pop, and even doo-wop. The track “I / Me / Myself” is Will's most streamed song, after it went viral on TikTok and exponentially grew his popularity.

The Normal Album got a new mix after parting with one of the original album’s main producers. The new mix, The New Normal!, included three extra 2018 demo tracks, and a remaster of every song, each now paired with a sillier version of their original titles, except for the track “Love, Me Normally”. The New Normal! was released on August 9th, 2024.

The covers for The Normal Album and The New Normal! display both Will’s name and the album’s title in Georgia. Both album versions include a sticker in the bottom left corner with a silly commercial slogan saying various messages depending on the version.

The Normal Album has only had one version of the sticker on its album art, with the message “INCLUDES THE HIT SINGLE ‘LOVE, ME NORMALLY!’ AND MORE NEW, ORIGINAL SONGS!” displayed in stretched Sitka.

The New Normal! has had many different album covers, plausibly depending on the type of media it’s consumed through. It and the very elusive 2023 Edit use Times New Roman for their slogans.

Artwork by Angelica Pasquali and Mike Diebold.

[More info on Discogs]

The album cover for The Normal Album (2023 Edit).

This album cover is the same as the original, except for the central image of Will being titled at an angle, and the promotional sticker is now green and displayed in Times New Roman. The promotional message reads “~ NEW ~ MODERN STEREO MIX! *2023 EDIT*”

The standard album cover for The New Normal!

The album cover is very similar to the original The Normal Album cover art. Instead of Will waving, his arms are spread open as if to welcome a guest. The zig-zag pattern background has been hue-shifted to look green and yellow instead of pink and blue. And the sticker in the bottom left corner is a bright purple instead of pink. The promotional sticker reads “~13~ MOOD-SWINGIN’ TUNES & EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS! ~NOW WITH~ 400% MORE HINDSIGHT!”

Another The New Normal! Album cover found through Apple Music.

Will Wood rests one elbow on the banister, holding his fist to his chin, while his other arm rests out the window as looks out the window longingly. The promotional sticker reads “NOW IN STEREO! ~ plus ~ 33% MORE ‘CONTENT!’”

Another The New Normal! Album cover found through Deezer.

Will grasps the window banister and holds his other hand flat to his forehead, perhaps trying to see something in the distance. The promotional sticker reads “NOW IN RECOVERY! ~ plus ~ THREE BONUS DIAGNOSES!”

The album jacket for the tour exclusive vinyl pressing of The New Normal! / 2023 Edit. This is also known as the “worst edition” because they had to rush production for the tour according to reddit user u/AutumnnMay

The zig-zag background is hue shifted to look blue, green, and purple. The space where the type for “The Normal Album” is has a very tiny “2023-2024 Mix” squished right beneath it, also in Georgia. The promotional sticker is now salmon colored, and displayed in Superclarendon. The promotional sticker reads “*100% GENUINE WORST EDITION PRESSING! ~RARE!~”

Protokoll used throughout in VMAN magazine, designed by Tobias Holzmann.

VMAN is an American bi-annual avant-garde fashion magazine featuring men’s clothing. It features the entire Protokoll family as well as the yet to be released ExtraBold and Black styles. They are set to be released by Out of the Dark.

Following their international specialist conference on railway heritage preservation in 2022, the Specialist Service for the Preservation of Historical Monuments of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and the Chair of Construction Heritage and Preservation (ETH) have published a comprehensive volume with 50 contributions from authors from more than 10 countries, highlighting and discussing the many challenges and opportunities of the young field of heritage preservation.

The trilingual texts and the titlings in the sewn-bound volume with 460 pages are typeset with the regular and black cuts of Neue Moderne Grotesk FSL, while the cover variants reference a typographic hodgepodge of Neue Moderne Grotesk FSL, Futura, Helvetica and Univers Condensed, plus some unidentified numerals and color patterns found in typical mid-1900 Swiss railway tickets. In a wider context the format of the book (170×280 cm) references the typical Edmondson railway ticket that has been in use from 1840 until recently in countries all over the world. This also resonates with the international contributions about the topic of the railway heritage preservation (excerpt from the Schwabe Verlag):

The construction of many national railway networks was essentially completed in the early 20th century. Since then, the operation of the railway system with its buildings and artistically designed constructions has required constant adaptation to changing technical standards and requirements for usage requirements. It is only in this way that the functionality, safety and economic efficiency of the railway system can be guaranteed. However, the pressure to change is not only inherent to the system but is also driven by socio-political processes. How does the preservation of railway heritage position itself in this field of tension? What characterises the existing railway transport system and what heritage values are associated with it?

Eisenbahndenkmalpflege – Préservation du patrimoine ferroviaire – Railway Heritage Preservation was published by Schwabe Verlag and designed by Huber/Sterzinger and Miloš Gavrić. The book was printed by Merkur Medien on Werkdruck and Bierdeckelkarton papers by Fischer Papier. Texts in German, French, or English, with translated abstracts.

Extra love to Joshua Schenkel for the Edmondson railway ticket history and Weichi He for the custom embossing type.

Formal Settings designed this year’s edition of Bog Hånd Værk, the annual publication by Forening for Boghaandværk, the Danish Association for Book Arts.

The content pages are printed on a so called “Riso-offset” machine, pairing standard CMYK colors with the Risograph print technique. The cover is produced from surplus “Switch sheets” from classic Riso-production printed with three-color screen print.

Clodagh O’Leary is a photographer documenting the Irish republican tradition of internment bonfires in Derry. This photo series focuses on the experiences of young people from the areas of the Bogside and Creggan, exploring the politics shaping their lives and identities.

The republican symbol of the Easter Lily is woven throughout the publication. Abstracted into a topographical map, the Easter Lily begins to mirror some of the physical and ideological boundaries in Derry.

Two alternative half covers were created for the publication – a tricolour and a gold version – both adorned with the Lily and a map of Creggan. The creep and bind stitching have been intentionally left untrimmed. For the publication and exhibition launch, a series of promotional posters were also created.

Riso printing by Way Bad Press, with digital printing by Plus Print. The display typeface is Medieval Edition by Elias Hanzer. It’s supported by Founders Grotesk for text.

Who Fears to Speak is available from Clodagh O’Leary / 1eurofiddy.

The magazine logo uses Flood, see the post about issue 28.

This 55th issue of the French cinema magazine La Septième Obsession is dedicated to women and horror movies, including interviews with filmmakers Coralie Fargeat and Robert Eggers, as well as movie reviews (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Black Christmas, The Silence of the Lambs…) and thematic essays.

Most texts are set in Lyon and Surt, while titles use an all-caps Grandmaster (occasionally with modified letters). Several covers exist, one featuring The Substance and using Signal Compressed, the other featuring Nosferatu and using Bradley DJR as well as Hans Fraktur.

Note the modified uppercase R in the title.

Note the modified uppercase R in the title.

Alternate cover using Bradley DJR and Hans Fraktur

Perfora in use for the issue theme on the cover of Atmos #8, “Rhythm”.

For every issue, Atmos prints several cover artworks around the issue’s theme. For this one, there are five cover versions by Daniel Shea, Théo de Gueltzl, Stefanie Moshammer, Daniel Obasi and Nikki McClarron. Print design by Actual Source, digital design by Hugo & Marie.

From the issue description:

Nature is an elaborate orchestra of interconnectedness, in which timing is everything. Atmos Volume 08: Rhythm dances with sound and synchronicity, cycles and circularity, patterns and pacing. How do we reconcile slow living with a climate of urgency? In what ways have our circadian rhythms been disrupted by artificial algorithms? How do we reconnect with the cycles of the natural world? Featuring contributions from adrienne maree brown, Théo de Gueltzl, Prentis Hemphill, Tricia Hersey, Nikki McClarron, Bill McKibben, Stefanie Moshammer, Daniel Obasi, Raveena, Claudia Serrato, Daniel Shea, and more.

Atmos is a nonprofit media organization focused on the cross-pollination of climate and culture, delivering award-winning journalism and creative storytelling through a biannual print magazine, daily digital features, original newsletters, and more.