Frieze A—Z
Frieze A—Z
Book
Frieze A to Z of Contemporary Art explores 25 years of contemporary art and culture, drawing from frieze magazine’s extensive archive. The book brings together fifty key highlights, including artist interviews, essays on subjects such as museums, photography, prehistoric art, and television, as well as cultural think pieces on fame, gentrification, nostalgia, and style.
The design takes inspiration from traditional encyclopedias like Encyclopaedia Britannica, preserving elements such as two-column layouts and page numbers positioned in the top corners. However, it is reimagined with a contemporary approach. Section openers feature large letters set in Ludovic Balland’s Stanley, a typeface influenced by Times New Roman, reinforcing frieze’s A-Z as a democratic reference. The spine lists all entries, creating a visually structured index.
Phaidon’s final cover features an image, but our preferred design embraced a simple typography composition, reflecting the clarity and precision of the book’s writing.
Publisher: Phaidon
Contributors: Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover with frieze co-editors Dan Fox, Jörg Heiser and Jennifer Higgie
2016
