ZONE Books

Bruce Mau designed Zone 1|2 in 1985, and with it founded his studio, Bruce Mau Design Inc. (BMD). With production and design based in BMD’s Toronto studio, editors in New York and Paris, and writers and contributors from around the world, Zone Books was an unparalleled publishing endeavor.

During the 19-year odyssey with Zone, BMD designed everything from the books themselves to Zone’s overall visual identity, its advertising and catalogues, business cards, CDs and exhibitions, and shared in editorial and planning responsibilities.

From the outset, Zone’s editors embraced design as integral to the content of the project: in as much as design is itself a form of expression, it cannot be separated from content. This attitude and approach is what has differentiated Zone, and given it a presence and reputation disproportionate to its production.

Referencing the connection between social movements and design throughout history, the founding editors of Zone wanted to express a new kind of condition in a new way. Rather than re-present a topic, they sought to model the effects of its ideas. To create a terrain where disparate voices from multiple disciplines could play and interact.

After the success of Zone 1|2, Zone Books launched an ambitious program of important titles on social, philosophical and cultural issues. With almost 100 volumes, many in distinct series such as Swerve Editions and Zone Readers, Zone titles include works by European thinkers such as Georges Bataille, Gilles Deleuze, Guy Debord and Henri Bergson, as well as lesser known international writers and thinkers.

Zone’s identity has never been strictly formulated; it is characterized more by a flexible membrane than strict boundaries. One can point to a typeface and family of fonts, to a consistently innovative use of materials (paper, laminates, perforations, printing techniques) and an ongoing exploration of image and color use, but the driving force of Zone’s design is always content. Identity builds as the project grows.