Superposition #1
New Swiss architecture magazine Superposition arrives wrapped in a gorgeously contrasting red and blue typographic cover announcing the theme, Hardcore Home.
Inside, a series of thoughtful stories about Home are presented in a gentler manner, and our latest Page 23 is typical of that. Designers Daly & Lyon apply a controlled layout throughout, but on this page they manage a 90° turn of the page without missing a beat.
I’ve never understood why so many publishers, editors and designers fear turning layouts 90° on the page. The break in pace it brings about can be an ideal effect, and one available only in print, not screen. Yet fear of that very break is so often the result of the suggestion.
For this series of photographs by one of the magazine’s editors, Max Creasy, the images each sit on their own page without text or caption (there are full details on a key spread at the end of the story). The images, all at 90° to the rest of the issue, relate to architect David Kohn’s career, and mix references with his own work. The anonymous nature of the images encourages the reader to examine what the headline describes as ‘The Language of David Kohn.’
That headline, on Page 23, is the key to the success of the page turn. Set in white on a bold black block, it follows the magazine’s headline style in every way but one: the block is turned 90°. Importantly, the page number shifts too, and the page sits opposite the single-page end of the previous story. Page 23 announces the turn.
That’s it – the turn couldn’t be more clearly nor simply signalled; the next spread follows style (above).
Nine spreads later, the next story returns to the standard angle; the David Kohn story is a distinct section neatly defined by its 90° turn.
Editors: Leo Bettini Oberkalmsteiner, Tibor Bielicky, Max Creasy, Ellena Ehrl & Dominic Kim
Art direction and design: Daly & Lyon