Unit Editions

Unit Editions is an independent^[1] British book publishing company founded in 2009^[2] by Adrian Shaughnessy and Tony Brook and Patricia Finegan of the design studio Spin.^[3]

Unit Editions

Founded	2009; 16 years ago (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

Based in London,^[4] the company is known for its elaborately produced publications that focus on niche topics in graphic design and visual culture.^{[5][6][7][8][9]} Its stated mission is to publish books on “subjects that are either neglected or ignored by mainstream publishers”^[10] and its founding was "prompted by frustration at the quality of design books available and a faith that quality in both design and writing would find a market".^[11]

Unit Editions was notable for establishing its reputation online and via social media^[12] and for producing a range of illustrated research papers (the first of which was on Ronald Clyne's work for the Folkways record label) as well as books.

The company distributes books directly to customers,^[13] selling about 85% of them through its website,^[14][15] and occasionally employing crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Volume.^[16] Most of its books are produced in relatively small print runs of 1000–3000 copies,^[14] and some titles sell out quickly.^[17][18][19] The majority of its first 50 titles were designed by Spin.^[20][21]

In 2023, British publishing house Thames & Hudson acquired the rights to Unit Editions’ past publications and future titles.^[22] Since the acquisition, new books have been published on the work of designers MuirMcNeil, Chris Ashworth, North and Fred Troller with a second edition of its 2012 monograph on the late Ken Garland appearing in 2025.

Awards and recognition

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 a 2016 D&AD Award.^[23] Unit Editions was nominated in the graphic design section of the 'Beazley Designs of the Year' exhibition at London's Design Museum in 2017^[24][25] and included in Creative Review’s Creative Leaders list in 2018.^[26]

Published titles

As of 2025, Unit Editions’ imprint includes more than 50 published titles, including monographs on celebrated graphic designers like FHK Henrion,^[27] Lance Wyman,^[28][29] Pentagram,^[30][31] Ken Garland,^[32] Herb Lubalin,^[33][34] and Paula Scher.^[35][36] Each title published by Unit Editions is identified with a sequential number, usually placed on the book’s copyright page or covers.

Books published by Unit Editions

Unit	Title	Subject	Year	ISBN
1	Studio Culture: The Secret Life of the Graphic Design Studio	Interviews with graphic design studio owners[37]	2009	ISBN 978-0-9562071-0-4
2	Supergraphics	Supergraphics[38]	2010
3	TD 63-73: Total Design and its Pioneering Role in Graphic Design	Work by Total Design[39]	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[40][41]	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[42][43][44]	2012	ISBN 978-0-9562071-6-6
9	Ken Garland: Structure and Substance	Work by Ken Garland[45]	2012	ISBN 978-0-9562071-9-7
10	Jurriaan Schrofer (1926-90): Restless Typographer	Work by Jurriaan Schrofer[46]	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[47]	2013	ISBN 978-0-9575114-1-5
13	FHK Henrion: The Complete Designer	Work by FHK Henrion[48][49]	2013	ISBN 978-0-9575114-2-2
14	Herb Lubalin: American Graphic Designer 1918–81 (compact edition), re-issued	Work by Herb Lubalin[50]	2014	ISBN 978-0-9575114-3-9
15	Manuals 1: Design and Identity Guidelines	Historic corporate design manuals[1][51]	2014	ISBN 978-0-9575114-4-6
16	Supernew Supergraphics	Supergraphics[52]	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[53]	2014
19	SPIN: 360º	Work by design studio Spin[54]	2015	ISBN 978-0-9575114-8-4
20	Lance Wyman: The Monograph	Work by Lance Wyman[55][56]	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[57][19]	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[58][59]	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[60][61]	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[62][63]	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[64][65]	2017	ISBN 978-0-9956664-3-6
34	Letraset: The DIY Typography Revolution	Typefaces and history of Letraset[66][67]	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[68]	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[69]	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[28][29]	2018	ISBN 978-1-9164573-1-7
42	Karlssonwilker On America	Visual essay on America by design studio Karlssonwilker[70][71]	2018	ISBN 978-1-9164573-2-4
43	What is Universal Everything?	Work by Universal Everything[72]	2019	ISBN 978-1-9164573-3-1
44	AZTDR™ – A—Z of The Designers Republic™	Work by The Designers Republic[73][74][75]	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[76][77][78]	2022	ISBN 978-1-9164573-7-9
50	Pentagram: Living by Design	Work by Pentagram[30]	2022	ISBN 978-1-9164573-8-6
52	North: Extracts from visual identities	Work by design studio North[79]	2023	ISBN 978-0-5008802-2-7
53	1,000 Marks	Logotypes by Pentagram[31]	2024
54	Disorder: Swiss Grit Volume II	Work by Chris Ashworth[9][80]	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