Meridian Press

Meridian publishes essays in translation — eight titles a year, each from a different language. They needed a series design strong enough to shelve as a collection, flexible enough that a Polish memoir and a Brazilian field diary could both feel at home.

Approach

We built the whole series on a single asymmetric grid and two typefaces. Covers carry no imagery — only the title, set enormous, and a thin rule that shifts position by language family. Inside, the text block is tuned for long-form reading: generous leading, a measure of sixty-six characters, folios pushed to the outer margin.

Outcome

Twelve titles in, the series has become the publisher's identity. Two covers were selected for the national book design annual; more importantly, the production cost per title dropped by a third.