Maiola in Revy, the magazine that discusses the world through one book at a time

The basic idea of Revy is to use one book as a prism to discuss worthwhile topics. Instead of choosing one subject, such as racism or migration, the topics are broached with the chosen book as a starting point for the discussion. The first issue dives into the novel Jazz by Toni Morrison.

In the first research phase on the visual identity, the designers (Studio Parasto Backman) wanted to explore book design during a period of time when books were elevated. They visited old archives and antiquarian shops focusing on book design from the 17th and 18th century.

Parasto Backman, the lead designer comments, “We mainly looked at books considered to be particularly good and important, and were inspired by how the form and content were integrated with supporting elements such as ornaments. This research has since been revised to reflect Revy’s contemporary context, which forms the basis of the magazine’s visual identity. However, parts of the design are continuously changing — each issue of the magazine has a customized font in the headings, as well as customized pointers and ornaments based on the current book’s theme, and a handwritten title on the cover. In the first issue, we have primarily looked at the Harlem Renaissance — its form and expression, as a visual translation of the novel Jazz — and we chose to use the typeface Ardeco made by Irina Chukina in the headings, which we modified with details we drew. Other fonts we used are Maiola by Veronika Burian in the body text and Montserrat by Julieta Ulanovsky in the title of the cover.”