| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Adrian Shaughnessy, Tony Brook, Patricia Finegan |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | London |
| Publication types | Books |
| Nonfiction topics | Design |
| Official website | https://uniteditions.com |
Unit Editions is an independent [1] British book publishing company founded in 2009 [2] by writer Adrian Shaughnessy and graphic designers Tony Brook and Patricia Finegan. [3] Headquartered in London, [4] Unit Editions is known for elaborately produced publications that focus on niche topics in graphic design and visual culture. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Their stated mission is to publish books on “subjects that are either neglected or ignored by mainstream publishers.” [10]
Unit Editions distributes books directly to customers, [11] selling about 85% of them through its website, [12] [13] and occasionally employing crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Volume. [14] Most of its books are produced in relatively small print runs of 1000–3000 copies, [12] and some titles sell out quickly. [15] [16] [17] The majority of books are designed by Spin Studio, run by the imprint’s co-founder Tony Brook. [18] [19]
In 2023, British publishing house Thames & Hudson acquired rights to Unit Editions’ past publications and future titles. [20]
Eating with the eyes, a collection of photographs by designer and Pentagram partner Harry Pearce, designed by Pentagram and published by Unit Editions in 2016, won the 2016 D&AD Award. [21] Unit Editions was nominated in the graphic design section of the 'Beazley Designs of the Year' exhibition at London's Design Museum in 2017 [22] [23] and included in Creative Review ’s Creative Leaders list in 2018. [24]
As of 2025, Unit Editions’ imprint includes more than 50 published titles, including monographs on celebrated graphic designers like FHK Henrion, [25] Lance Wyman, [26] [27] Pentagram, [28] [29] Ken Garland, [30] Herb Lubalin, [31] [32] and Paula Scher. [33] [34] Each title published by Unit Editions is identified with a sequential number, usually placed on the book’s copyright page or covers.
| Unit | Title | Subject | Year | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Studio Culture: The Secret Life of the Graphic Design Studio | Interviews with graphic design studio owners [35] | 2009 | ISBN 978-0-9562071-0-4 |
| 2 | Supergraphics | Supergraphics [36] | 2010 | |
| 3 | TD 63-73: Total Design and its Pioneering Role in Graphic Design | Work by Total Design [37] | 2011 | |
| 4 | Wim Crouwel: a graphic odyssey catalogue | Catalogue to accompany Wim Crouwel exhibit at Design Museum | 2011 | ISBN 978-0-9562071-3-5 |
| 5 | Projekt: The Polish Journal of Visual Art and Design | Projekt magazine [38] [39] | 2011 | ISBN 978-0-9562071-4-2 |
| 6 | Kwadraat-Bladen – A Series of Graphic Experiments 1955-1974 | Work by Pieter Brattinga | 2012 | ISBN 978-09562071-5-9 |
| 7 | Herb Lubalin American Graphic Designer 1918–81 | Work by Herb Lubalin [40] [41] [42] | 2012 | ISBN 978-0-9562071-6-6 |
| 9 | Ken Garland: Structure and Substance | Work by Ken Garland [43] | 2012 | ISBN 978-0-9562071-9-7 |
| 10 | Jurriaan Schrofer (1926-90): Restless Typographer | Work by Jurriaan Schrofer [44] | 2012 | ISBN 978-0-9562071-8-0 |
| 11 | Scratching The Surface: Essays 1995-2013 | Essays by Adrian Shaughnessy | 2013 | ISBN 978-0-9575114-0-8 |
| 12 | Type Only | Contemporary typography [45] | 2013 | ISBN 978-0-9575114-1-5 |
| 13 | FHK Henrion: The Complete Designer | Work by FHK Henrion [46] [47] | 2013 | ISBN 978-0-9575114-2-2 |
| 14 | Herb Lubalin: American Graphic Designer 1918–81 (compact edition), re-issued | Work by Herb Lubalin [48] | 2014 | ISBN 978-0-9575114-3-9 |
| 15 | Manuals 1: Design and Identity Guidelines | Historic corporate design manuals [1] [49] | 2014 | ISBN 978-0-9575114-4-6 |
| 16 | Supernew Supergraphics | Supergraphics [50] | 2014 | ISBN 978-0-9575114-5-3 |
| 17 | Type Plus | Contemporary typography | 2014 | ISBN 978-0-9575114-6-0 |
| 18 | Manuals 2: Design and Identity Guidelines | Historic corporate design manuals [51] | 2014 | |
| 19 | SPIN: 360º | Work by design studio Spin [52] | 2015 | ISBN 978-0-9575114-8-4 |
| 20 | Lance Wyman: The Monograph | Work by Lance Wyman [53] [54] | 2015 | ISBN 978-0-9575114-9-1 |
| 22 | TD 63-73: Total Design and its Pioneering Role in Graphic Design, expanded | Work by Total Design [55] [17] | 2016 | ISBN 978-0-9932316-0-5 |
| 23 | Eating with the eyes | Photographs by Harry Pearce | 2016 | ISBN 978-0-9932316-3-6 |
| 24 | Graphic Stamps: The Miniature Beauty Of Postage Stamps | Postage stamps [56] [57] | 2016 | ISBN 978-0-9932316-4-3 |
| 25 | Herb Lubalin: Typographer | Typography by Herb Lubalin | 2016 | ISBN 978-0-9932316-5-0 |
| 26 | Action Time Vision – Punk & Post-Punk 7" Record Sleeves | Punk and post-punk record covers [58] [59] | 2016 | ISBN 978-0-9932316-6-7 |
| 27 | Impact 1.0: Design Magazines, Journals and Periodicals (1922-1973) | Magazine covers, 1922–1973 | 2016 | ISBN 978-0-9932316-8-1 |
| 28 | Impact 2.0: Design Magazines, Journals and Periodicals (1974-2016) | Magazine covers, 1974–2016 | 2016 | ISBN 978-0-9932316-9-8 |
| 30 | Paula Scher: Works | Work by Paula Scher | 2016 | ISBN 978-0-9956664-1-2 |
| 31 | Spin/Adventures in Typography | Experimental work by design studio Spin [60] [61] | 2017 | |
| 32 | andreas uebele material monograph volume 3, 2003–2016 | Work by Andreas Uebele | 2016 | ISBN 978-0-9956664-2-9 |
| 33 | National Theatre Posters: A Design History | Posters for National Theatre [62] [63] | 2017 | ISBN 978-0-9956664-3-6 |
| 34 | Letraset: The DIY Typography Revolution | Typefaces and history of Letraset [64] [65] | 2017 | ISBN 978-0-9956664-4-3 |
| 35 | Octavo Redux 1:1 — a record of Octavo, journal of typography 1986–1992 | Work by design studio 8vo [66] | 2017 | ISBN 978-0-9956664-5-0 |
| 36 | Spin/Adventures in Typography II | Experimental work by design studio Spin | 2017 | ISBN 978-0-9956664-6-7 |
| 37 | Paula Scher: Works (concise edition), re-issued | Work by Paula Scher | 2018 | ISBN 978-0-9956664-7-4 |
| 38 | Vaughan Oliver: Archive Materials & Fragments | Work by Vaughan Oliver | 2018 | |
| 40 | VNIITE: Discovering Utopia – Lost Archives of Soviet Design | Work by VNIITE [67] | 2018 | ISBN 978-1-9164573-0-0 |
| 41 | Lance Wyman: Process. A proposal for the 1976 USA Bicentennial identity | Brand identity for the United States Bicentennial [26] [27] | 2018 | ISBN 978-1-9164573-1-7 |
| 42 | Karlssonwilker On America | Visual essay on America by design studio Karlssonwilker [68] [69] | 2018 | ISBN 978-1-9164573-2-4 |
| 43 | What is Universal Everything? | Work by Universal Everything [70] | 2019 | ISBN 978-1-9164573-3-1 |
| 44 | AZTDR™ – A—Z of The Designers Republic™ | Work by The Designers Republic [71] [72] [73] | 2019 | ISBN 978-1-9164573-4-8 |
| 45 | Studio Culture Now: Advice and guidance for designers in a changing world | Interviews with graphic design studio owners | 2020 | ISBN 978-1-9164573-6-2 |
| 46 | Ed Fella: A Life in Images | Work by Ed Fella [74] [75] [76] | 2022 | ISBN 978-1-9164573-7-9 |
| 50 | Pentagram: Living by Design | Work by Pentagram [28] | 2022 | ISBN 978-1-9164573-8-6 |
| 52 | North: Extracts from visual identities | Work by design studio North [77] | 2023 | ISBN 978-0-5008802-2-7 |
| 53 | 1,000 Marks | Logotypes by Pentagram [29] | 2024 | |
| 54 | Disorder: Swiss Grit Volume II | Work by Chris Ashworth [9] [78] | 2025 | |
| 55 | Fred Troller Design | Work by Fred Troller | 2024 | ISBN 978-0-500-88039-5 |
| 56 | Ken Garland: Structure and Substance, re-issued | Work by Ken Garland | 2025 |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)