Order is a book about the work of artist Federico Gallo. It features a series of images painted over magazine pictures and collected images. Since our first meeting he asked us to design a book that didn't feel like a catalogue; he wanted an object that would reveal his influences and complement his work.

Federico gave us complete freedom to work with his images, as long as it respected the structure he organised: three chapters titled The Self, Paper Beings and Prophecy. It is a narrative that starts with the individual (self-portraits), followed by the collective, and the third chapter is a build-up for a rather pessimistic grand finale.

While we were pleased with the freedom, we needed to find an idea to lead the design of the book. The sequencing and layout of images needed to be justified by an overall system that directed the design. Taking the title of the book as a starting point we organised all the images to create a bigger, single picture. Each spread was obtained from a different crop of this picture, so images leave remnants around the book, the content from one chapter flows into the other and interferes with it. The final spread reveals the order.

The book was produced using french-folding. This was particularly useful when images were placed on the edge of pages, since it's still possible to see them as a whole. The third chapter begins with an image called Blackout, and from that moment the book is printed inside the pages, leaving the outside black. To reveal the prophecy of the title, the chapter needs to be cut open.

Both cover and bespoke typography were designed to reference Federico's universe, echoing the aesthetics of glossy magazines.