Buchgestaltung – Was ist ein schönes Buch?

Our current city chronicler, Clara Cosima Wolff, is hosting three evenings here at the Literaturhaus and inviting guests to readings and discussions. This first evening will focus on book design.

Clara Cosima Wolff and Robert Stripling founded a publishing house at the very beginning of 2026:the new pressis still in its start-up phase and calls itself a “production facility for scarce goods”—that is, for something that doesn’t actually exist. Andreas Töpfer has been conceiving and designing books for over 20 years, finding unique visual languages to express authors’ ideas. But what makes a beautiful book? What challenges does one face, especially at the very beginning of a publishing venture? Stripling and Töpfer collaborated on the albums*Unter Stunden*and*Über Flüche*(kookbooks, 2022 and 2026). How do different collaborations between authors and book artists take shape, and what specific design requirements does each book entail? Stripling and Töpfer will explore these and other questions from their respective perspectives. Andreas Töpfer will also provide insight into the rich universe of his book art.