Case study · Publishing & promotion
Holding a body of thought
in one series.
Publishing the CONGO — La gâchette de l'Afrique series by Joshua Nkombe: four volumes, one series identity and an English edition.
The challenge
Four books
that had to read
as one.
A political argument spread across four books falls apart if each volume is treated as a standalone. It needed a system: a cover recognisable at a glance, easy to vary, and strong enough to work on a shelf and as a thumbnail.
And one further requirement: carrying this argument beyond French-speaking readers, without redoing the layout.
What we did
Series identity
A single cover system: screen-printed portrait, condensed typography, a star, and a different flat colour for each volume.
Title system
A shared title, a subtitle specific to each volume, and a strapline that announces what the volume is.
Interior layout
Layout grid, heading hierarchy and reading rhythm, kept identical across all four volumes.
English edition
Adapting the title and layout for the English edition, without breaking the series identity.
Production
Choice of format, paper and finishing, then print supervision through to final proof.
Promotion
Launch visuals and variations for the author's own channels.
The series
CONGO — La gâchette de l'Afrique
The results
Books published by Les Bâtisseurs, the publishing house of Far Away Agency. Photographs of the printed copies.