Die Entstehung des heutigen Menschen. Ein unvollendetes Buchprojekt, 1929 – 1938
This academic treatment of an unfinished book project by Sigfried Giedion, dating back to the 1930s, captures the complex content exceptionally well thanks to the functional and clever design. The significance and structure of the work are apparent right from the broad spine, with the three sections of the book listed beneath the capitalised main title. Within the book block, the three sections are delineated from each other by individual sheets of the thick, rough cover paper, which serve as title pages explaining the different statuses of the sections. Only the first lengthy text was written by Giedion himself; the other two are described as ’summaries by the editors’ based on Giedion’s notes. The typographical design, which includes a serif and a sans-serif font, is elaborate but not overwhelming, as it is conditioned by the various paratexts such as page headings, footnotes, academic commentary and so forth. Three image sections stand out from the exterior owing to their coloured backgrounds, making them just as immediately accessible as the text sections. Despite the decidedly modern aesthetic, all the design decisions complement the archive material.
