Portuguese design studio 0.itemzero focuses on editorial and typeface design. Based in Espinho, just south of Porto, the team comprises designers / educators Rúben Dias, Ricardo Dantas and Fábio Martins plus marketeer Rodrigo Correia.
‘Designing a book requires understanding at a tri-dimensional level,’ they state, ‘through the manipulation of material properties such as weight, touch, size and proportions.’
The Book Cover, published in 2021, was the studio’s second publication in the ‘Making a Book’ collection, a holistic guide to book anatomy, materials and industrial production, filled with tips, techniques and examples, with more than 300 illustrations in its 160 pages. The book is in three sections – single, two-piece, and composite covers, and 0.itemzero created all the illustrations and Uivo, the typeface used throughout. Printing, binding and finishing was completed collaboratively with printer Gráfica Maiadouro.
The publication features a W-shaped Swiss binding with two book blocks, so the paper had to endure the stress of handling in order to age gracefully.
The designers chose Materica Gesso, explaining that ‘the combination of longer cotton fibres with the plasticity of cellulose – along with the heavier thicknesses – was perfect for the job.’
The studio’s goals are to make books they wish they had, books that can ‘equip the reader with tools to open a window for exploration.’
0.itemzero’s most recent project is Paper, Paper, Paper, an exhaustive exploration into paper manufacturing, transformation and handling techniques.
Paper: Materica Gesso