Owl & Dog Playbooks — London, UK

What are the essential elements that go into making a good editorial design? “In the case of our work, we are fascinated with the experience of using the book, and the interactive possibilities of transformative book formats. For us, challenging the standard book is good editorial design because however carefully we plan our compositions or select our materials, the ultimate test of an Owl & Dog book is in the interaction.”

Owl & Dog Playbooks is an independent children’s-book publisher based in London that was established by two designers, Claudio Ripol and Yeonju Yang. They say: “We are interested in new, unusual formats, halfway between books and toys, and exploring the theatrical role-playing involved in reading a book to a young child. Our books are designed to be read and used creatively, with a mission to celebrate this fun ritual of book reading, and to promote magical moments of discovery. With our product-design background, we look at books from a slightly different angle and see them as objects, formats to be challenged, rather than being a standardised vessel to contain images and words.”