Mondadori Poetry Series
Designer: Cristina Bazzoni
Publisher: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A.
Typefaces: AG Special and Garamond Book
Here is a series I spotted a bit ago by the Italian designer Cristina Bazzoni. The cover with the abstract vein-like coral is what first drew me in. Cristina shares with us a brief take on publishing in Italy, as well as the creative process on the presented series.
—Jason Gabbert
It’s not easy to work in Italy for the world of publishing. Publishers typically have little boldness and often remain tied to the traditional image, since classical literature is often the choice of reading for the Italian.
A good project is always recognized as such, and it is certainly important for the editor what image we give a book, because the book is often chosen for what it tells through it’s cover. The Italian reader places a lot of trust in this.
I was very lucky with this series. I proposed these innovative solutions some years ago. They liked them so much that I was virtually free to create. But unfortunately this is not always the case.
This series of books was born from the desire to introduce poetry in a modern way. This meant that I did not need to be afraid to surprise the reader with images unusual for the content, the images needed to be both emotional and extraordinary.
The step before designing was a briefing with the editor, he explained to me the topic of the book, the characteristics of the author, and his suggestions.
La traversata dell’oasi:
This book is a contemporary view of love poems. There were no detailed constraints placed on me from the client, just that the cover needed to convey passion and love.
Behind this solution was the search for something precious. The book of Taschen I had in my study inspired me. I found this painting of coral that also appeared to be a distribution of veins, therefore vital, like love and passion.
Uomo e cammello:
This book has contemporary poetry about the destiny of man, the sense of the end, the interment of feelings, and the sunset of an age. The author sent me a lot of sketches he made during his work. I thought that these would be a good beginning.
This solution was born from collaboration with the author and from his expressive force. I found this to be amazing.
Electric Light:
The image here is a work of Dan Flavin, Untitled 1/3 (green light), 1963. In this book the author travels through space and time, from infancy to the recent past with openings on world Greek and Latin classics.
Behind this solution was the search of space and light. This made me think of Flavin, I had seen his work in museums and found the coupling of this and the book’s content perfect.
La pianta del pane:
The image here is a photograph by Cristiano Guerri. He is also a designer and friend of mine. Behind this solution was the idea of a search for the tree of life, family, and its generations.
12.15.08 // Joseph said:
Nice! The Mark Strand is especially interesting: compare it to Jason Booher's design for the forthcoming New Selected Poems: http://jasonbooher.com/img/l8.jpg. Really cool how both reveal how Strand works.w it plays with the title etc, that it's bound to grab the eye.
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12.15.08 // Ian Shimkoviak said:
These are very fun. A great gig indeed.
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12.16.08 // Brandon Hill said:
Interesting comparison Joseph. It looks like designing a poem is just like designing a book cover. Both designers must have wanted to convey the process.
Great set, each book hits at completely different aethstetic angles.
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12.17.08 // Nate S. said:
I've heard very little/nothing about the publishing industry in Italy...great post!
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3.29.09 // poggy said:
Great post, and I am loving this blog as a whole. You might want to fix a typo though - the last book is "la pianta del pane", not "la piñata" :-)
