Homo faber book cover

License: All Rights Reserved.

My edition from high school where every German student has to read it (at least that was the case in the 1990s). I loved Max Frisch as an author ever since. The Suhrkamp Taschenbuch series was designed by Willi Fleckhaus in 1971 — simple, typographic, in many bright colors and in one bold typeface*. The design survived more or less unchanged until 2004, with the occasional addition of illustrations or photos like here.

* See also our post on the typeface, Times Modern, and the quest to uncover its roots. And this one about the design of an exhibition in Switzerland to honor Max Frisch's 100th birthday (he's Swiss). Knowing the iconic book cover in this popular edition helps to understand why these posters look the way they do.

License: All Rights Reserved.