‘Szenasy, Design Advocate’
Publications — Mar 20, 2014 The first published collection of writings by the design writer and educator, Susan Szenasy.The cover features a striking photograph of a young Szenasy in the sixth grade, taken a few months before the Hungarian Revolution. Scher selected the portrait for the cover because Szenasy already looked so much like a young intellectual and rebel: the image perfectly captures the passion and determination Szenasy would later bring to her writing and advocacy.
The title has been treated like a magazine masthead or logo. The book is set in Futura, and the title appears in a customized Futura Extra Bold that reduces the heights of all ascenders and descenders (and eliminates the dot of the “i”) to keep the typography tight.
The book is designed in black, white and red, with two color sections of personal photographs and landmark Metropolis covers. A thick black rule is used as a graphic device throughout the book, underlining the title typography on the cover and section openers and chapter titles inside. The heavy, architectural form of the rule ties into the subject and suggests the importance and urgency of Szenasy’s work. Perspectives on Szenasy’s career and legacy from architects, designers, and journalists are identified by a red rule.
It was especially important to Szenasy and Metropolis Books that the book be environmentally sustainable. The trim size was chosen to minimize waste and the paper (Cascades Rolland Enviro Print) is made from 100% post-consumer waste fiber. The advantages to the environment are detailed in an “energy analysis” at the back of the book.