AIGA Design Archives

This text-only record is part of the interactive AIGA Design Archives where you can view more details, zoom into images and explore other works in the definitive online resource on American design.

Design Category
Book design, 2001
Design firm
Steedman Design (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
Collection
(2002) 50 Books/50 Covers of 2001

Description

The primary challenge with the design of this book was to reintroduce the richness and complexity of the classic tale of Pinocchio to an audience informed primarily by the Disney version. The recognizable wooden puppet is carved out of the dark, solid wood cover to foreshadow that for this moralistic tale about the challenges of life; the text clearly states: “the wood out of which Pinocchio is carved is humanity itself.” In this way, the cover is at once recognizable and surprising. The body of the book is proportioned and set in a contemporary reworking of a traditional book layout, to speak to the tale’s enduring history and to forefront Ghiuselev’s illustrations.

Credits
Designer: Judith Steedman
Illustrator: Iassen Ghiuselev
Trim size: 7 5/8 x 11 inches
Pages: 156
Quantity printed: 5,500
Typefaces: Minion, Poetica
Printer: Grafiche AZ
Paper: Acid free
Binding method: Smythe-sewn, hardcover with jacket
Author: Carlo Collodi
Publisher: Simply Read Books