Buddenbrooks

Book Design 2023

The concept and models of “family” are constantly evolving. While this process is often viewed as the decline of family as in institution, I see it as a positive progression. Thomas Mann’s classic novel Buddenbrooks (1901) explores the transformation of a family—its themes remain highly relevant today.

In a new edition of the novel, I explore the dynamics of family relationships through an expressive and pluralistic typographic approach that mirrors the diversity of family structures. This interpretation situates the literary masterpiece in a contemporary context. Insertions, rotated ninety degrees and highlighted in bright orange, reinforce this modern perspective by introducing essays on the book’s central motifs.

The numerous design decisions in layout and production function as metaphors for the central motifs and themes of Buddenbrooks. The novel’s eleven parts are split into four volumes, each representing a generation of the Buddenbrook family.

@ Royal Danish Academy, Master Thesis Project © 2023

Lucas Guizetti

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Projects: ❶.Buddenbrooks ❷.Geistesblüten ❸.Schauspiel Köln ❹.Dyet Magazine ❺.Butter, Vieh, Vernichtung ❻.Zahnärztin Dr. Hainich ❼.Kunst, Raum, Vision ❽.Neutrois Grotesk ❾.Dynamis Variable →.More work