• Project: Crime preview relaunch for Suhrkamp
• Role: Led concept, design, and stakeholder coordination
• Goal: Distinct visual identity for genre titles within a literary brand
• Approach: Competitor analysis, bold key visuals, modular structure
• Result: Strong trade feedback, clear positioning, ongoing series foundation

Suhrkamp Verlag is one of the most renowned literary publishers in the German-speaking world. With a catalogue including authors such as Max Frisch, Elfriede Jelinek, and Peter Handke, Suhrkamp stands for intellectual literature, political discourse, and philosophical depth. This strong identity is also reflected in its restrained and thoughtful visual language.

For the autumn 2025 season, Suhrkamp reintroduced a standalone preview brochure dedicated exclusively to its crime and thriller list – the first time in many years. This marked both a strategic and visual shift in how the publisher presents this growing segment, providing the opportunity to rethink its communication approach from the ground up.

I was tasked with leading the editorial design process end-to-end, including concept development, stakeholder alignment, and iterative refinement to ensure strategic and visual goals were met.

Objective

The preview brochure was developed as both a sales tool for booksellers and a promotional instrument for the press, who use it to select titles for review. The goal was to create a format that clearly sets Suhrkamp’s crime and thriller titles apart from its literary core program, while still retaining a sense of continuity with the publisher’s brand identity – a visual space of its own for a program full of tension and narrative drive.

Analysis

As a starting point, I conducted an in-depth analysis of Suhrkamp’s and competitors’ preview brochures, establishing a foundation for data-driven concept development.

I focused on layout conventions, typography, information design, and visual tone. The analysis focused on understanding the visual grammar that booksellers are familiar with navigating, instead of simply imitating existing designs.

Based on this, I proposed a shift towards a more emotionally charged, visually dynamic presentation. The new design aims to better reflect the tone and intensity of the books, using atmosphere and clearer visual storytelling.

Concept Development

Building on the insights from the analysis phase, I developed several visual concepts that increased in emotional tone and visual contrast. Each concept was applied to real titles from previous seasons, enabling a direct comparison with earlier Suhrkamp layouts and providing a basis for discussion.

An early decision was made in favour of the circular key visual placed behind each book cover – a dynamic design element that introduced a sense of atmosphere and narrative context, while deliberately breaking away from Suhrkamp’s typically linear and restrained layout language.

However, while this element was carried forward, the overall tone of the initial concepts was still relatively reserved – leaning closer to the formal clarity of Suhrkamp’s literary previews.

Through close collaboration and by proactively managing feedback and aligning expectations, I evolved the design toward a bolder, darker, and more emotionally charged visual direction, ultimately resulting in the final concept used in the published brochure seen below.

Typography, Structure and Visual Logic

Typography and modular layout decisions were made to balance brand consistency with new emotional intensity, aligning visual elements with strategic marketing goals and target audience expectations.

The design makes consistent use of Suhrkamp’s house typefaces: Corporate S (sans serif) and Corporate A (serif). For headlines and marketing statements, I deliberately used bolder weights of Corporate S to create stronger visual contrast and bring more presence to key messages. For body text, the serif typeface Corporate A was used to underscore the literary quality and premium character of the titles.

The overall structure is clear and modular:

• Left-hand page: Title, tagline, blurb, press quotes, marketing statements
• Right-hand page: Book cover with the circular key visual as an emotional backdrop
• Black footer bar: A continuous, flexible module that spans both pages, containing author bios, bibliographic details, licensing and audiobook information, as well as backlist or marketing highlights
• Feature pages: Atmospheric intro visuals and claims for lead titles, enhancing the dramatic entry into each story

A strong example of the new visual tone can be found on the double-page spread for Josh Winning’s Verbrenn das Negativ. The circular key visual shows an image of Los Angeles – the book’s primary setting – which I adapted in colour and contrast to align with the book’s cover design. The result is a cohesive and striking spread that strengthens the emotional connection between story and layout, and gives the overall brochure a confident, genre-appropriate identity.

Outcome and Feedback

The response from Suhrkamp’s marketing team and the bookselling trade was consistently positive. Notable feedback included:

• the clear visual distinction from the literary programme
• the intuitive, modular structure
• the added emotional impact and visual dynamism

In addition, my collaborative and flexible working style was positively noted, particularly the quick turnaround times and my responsiveness to feedback throughout the process. The project laid the groundwork for establishing a long-term, standalone crime brochure series, as well as a productive and trust-based working relationship.

In summary: This project demonstrates how editorial design can be used to create functional, brand-aligned, yet emotionally engaging communication.

“Thanks to Daniel’s experience in publishing design, we were able to give the relaunch of our crime preview a compelling visual identity. The result is both market-oriented and visually strong.”

Matthias Reiner, Head of Marketing and Visual Content, Suhrkamp