Kenning Editions catalog 2021

The 2020 catalog of Kenning Editions. On the cover, “AUDRE” is set in Halyard Display, and “LORDE” is custom lettering by Mirko Velimirović, done with a dry steel poster brush. When opened, the front and back of the catalog reveal a poster with the full portrait of Audre Lorde, drawn by María Octavia Russo.

Designer Faride Mereb writes:

When I designed the catalog, the look I was going for was one of old newspapers or broadsides. At first, I chose a transitional roman italic and a gothic sans, but decided to step out of my comfort zone. It was suggested that I used Texturina as an alternative, which I loved. Body text is set in Minion.

I tried to improve the hierarchy by using different weights and point sizes suited to each type family. For example, the heaviest weight of Halyard Display felt very eye-catching and news-papery to me.

I wanted the publication to be recognizable in any form it took: folded once, twice, while being read, or seen from a distance. Audre Lorde is the protagonist, my concern was that she be portrayed as such. With this design, people are able to frame it, use it as a poster, or paste it on the street after reading.

One of the reasons I love ephemera is because how we use it changes with time. This is meant to be one of those publications.