I was so delighted to receive The Most Beautiful Polish Book Award for the series, because I really put my heart and soul into this project. One year earlier I came across The Smiley Collection, a new series of John le Carré books by David Pearson. The typography and colours were just right. With very limited means, the designer managed to evoke the atmosphere of a bygone era; I thought I'd like to do something similar with Chandler.
I first read his books in the Polish communist-era editions of the "Z jamnikiem" series. Wonderful paperback designs from the scarcity economy era! The glue crumbles, so most of them are in tatters. Monochrome covers, mandatory snippet of the novel's text on the front and an unusual squat format – I absorbed all of this into my project.
I spent hours watching film noir title sequences from the 1940s. The craftsmanship of Hollywood letterers is striking: I loved the variety and imagination in forms. I knew I had to refer to this somehow, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up: that's why each volume of our edition has the title written in a different typeface. Sometimes these are typefaces from that era, sometimes inspired by it.
I first read his books in the Polish communist-era editions of the "Z jamnikiem" series. Wonderful paperback designs from the scarcity economy era! The glue crumbles, so most of them are in tatters. Monochrome covers, mandatory snippet of the novel's text on the front and an unusual squat format – I absorbed all of this into my project.
I spent hours watching film noir title sequences from the 1940s. The craftsmanship of Hollywood letterers is striking: I loved the variety and imagination in forms. I knew I had to refer to this somehow, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up: that's why each volume of our edition has the title written in a different typeface. Sometimes these are typefaces from that era, sometimes inspired by it.
Year: 2022–2023
Page size: 125×175 mm (4.9×6.9 in.)
Pages: 256–360
Paper: Ecco Book Cream 80 g 2.0
Binding: paperback
Cover material: Munken Print White 300 g uncoated stock
Cover material: Munken Print White 300 g uncoated stock
Typefaces: Futura ND, Manuka Condensed, Paperback (body)
And finally, the interior design – thanks to the Internet Archive I delved into the designs of the cult series Dell Mystery; therefore, our edition will have a layout (from the look of the title pages to the characteristic location of the page numbers) inspired by it! And the whole thing I obviously set in Paperback typeface by John Downer: a beautiful take on Scotch Roman (which also inspired W.A. Dwiggins in the 1930s when designing the Caledonia typeface, popular for the next decades in the American publishing world.)
I tell you: research is pure fun, intertwining various threads is now the coolest part of my job. You can probably see about 5% of it, but the awareness that IT ALL CONNECTS, that I leave nothing to chance - well, that's something.
