twen (1959—1971)
157 × 230 mm, 158 pages (with 16 page English translation insert)
Tolouse, France
Editors: Bureau Brut & Stéphane Darricau
Design: Bureau Brut
Essays: Hans-Michael Koetzle, Serge Ricco and Stéphane Darricau
A beautifully designed volume chronicling the hugely influential West German young woman’s magazine twen, published from 1959—1971. Art director Willy Fleckhaus devised a modernist, monochrome design system that has entranced editorial designers ever since—it has been described as the best-designed magazine of all time. Better-known titles such as Nova wouldn’t have had half the impact had twen not shown the way.
Illustrated with several hundred reproductions of spreads and designs details, and backed up by a series of essays telling the story of the magazine, contextualising Fleckhaus’s work within editorial history, and a close-up look at his typographic aesthetic.
Published in French with a full 16-page English translation. It’s a must-have for anyone interested in the history and imapct of 20th century magazine design.