Publishing studio Epilogue proposes a contemporary redesign of Flatland

“We hear a lot about the death of print and the dominance of digital,” begins Epilogue’s Kickstarter pitch video for a new version of Edwin Abbott’s Flatland, “but it’s having access to either that makes this an exciting time. The challenge is, how do you make something that is interesting and meaningful with both?”

Epilogue is a small design and publishing studio in San Francisco, and when you see their proposed redesign of the 19th Century classic, you’ll understand why it has already far exceeded its $26,000 Kickstarter goal, and with 21 days still to go, is not far off doubling it. The studio has teamed up with digital designers Jono Brandel and Aki Rodić to the couple the new edition of the book – which deals with themes of class and segregation through geometric shapes – with a digital Library of Shapes in an interactive, playful and stylish online offering. Epilogue means what it says when it talks about making something “interesting and meaningful with both” printed and digital media.

The book is a beauty – with a Tyvek cover and a hard slipcase to make it as durable as possible, and a new website to expand Abbott’s influence into the digital realm, which would no doubt have astounded the writer. Judging by the way the Kickstarter is progressing, it’ll be in our hands in no time at all.