Sar: The Essence of Indian Design, published by Phaidon, traces a history of Indian design, from antiquity to the present day. The range of objects featured showcase a wide variety of manufacturing and decorating techniques. All have an enduring quality and beauty, as well as a fundamental connection to Indian culture.

Our intention with the cover was to evoke the craftsmanship evident in Indian design. It features a repeat pattern that has been screenprinted in a metallic gold ink onto a tinted uncoated paper stock. The boards are wrapped and sit flush with the book block, and it is bound with a pink cloth spine.

Inside, the book is organised into abstract categories with Hindi titles, such as ‘coming and going’ and ‘believing’. Each chapter opener spread shows the title framed within a continuous looped form.

We employed a typeface called Korpus, designed by Binnenland. It was drawn following an exploration of the metal type production process, and its characteristics celebrate the errors that often occurred as the letterform was transmitted from one medium to another. This crafted nature made it a good fit for the text in the book.