For Buenos Aires–based designer Max Rompo, designing new covers for classic books is a bit like a conversation—an unspoken dialog with the author, a dialog with the established legacy and perception of the book in readers’ minds, and also a dialog with the designers of the previous editions.
So how does Rompo approach the task of redesigning, say, the Vintage Español Clásicos series?
“I find underscoring silent, small details about them quite helpful in regard [to] demystifying them and making them look friendlier to new readers,” he says. “Like showing Quixote losing his helmet instead of his mind, for example. I find it even more joyful when it comes to a series edition because it allows us to look for different forms of the same strategy each time.”
With art direction by Megan Wilson, Rompo has executed a line that thrives in its minimalism, with details that will have returning readers visiting the series with fresh eyes, and new readers basking in the telling detail when they discover it within the classic cache of pages.
For more about the series—or to pick up a few volumes—head here.
Animation by Ale Pippa