Context
Catalogo is a photography studio founded by Maria Francesca Lui and Marco Lumini, specialised in architectural photography. Their background as architects shapes the way they observe and narrate space. Images are not conceived as individual photographs, but as sequences built to guide the eye through a project. In this context, the editorial is not merely a presentation tool, it is one of the studio's most important touchpoints: the place where this way of seeing takes shape. The challenge was to design a format capable of conveying this approach coherently.
Challenge
A catalogue is, by definition, an ordered collection of elements. In the case of Catalogo, these elements are photographs: images conceived as sequences to tell the story of a space. The book format therefore becomes the most natural form to hold this narrative, a browsable space where images find their rhythm. On this basis, we designed a simple and recognisable editorial structure, built to accompany the studio's projects over time. The layout gives room to the photographic sequence, alternating more open pages with denser moments to follow the rhythm of the images. The project was designed to work with very small print runs, so that each new body of work can be produced in just a few copies without sacrificing editorial quality. The graphic structure therefore remains constant, while paper and colour can vary within the same family of materials, adapting to what the printer has available.
A catalogue is, by definition, an ordered collection of elements. In the case of Catalogo, these elements are photographs: images conceived as sequences to tell the story of a space. The book format therefore becomes the most natural form to hold this narrative, a browsable space where images find their rhythm. On this basis, we designed a simple and recognisable editorial structure, built to accompany the studio's projects over time. The layout gives room to the photographic sequence, alternating more open pages with denser moments to follow the rhythm of the images. The project was designed to work with very small print runs, so that each new body of work can be produced in just a few copies without sacrificing editorial quality. The graphic structure therefore remains constant, while paper and colour can vary within the same family of materials, adapting to what the printer has available.
Solution
The result is an editorial series that accompanies the studio's projects. Each photographic commission takes shape in a printed volume, produced in a small number of copies and delivered to the client as part of the project itself. Over time, these books build a physical archive of Catalogo's work: a sequence of different projects, materials, and spaces, united by the same editorial structure. The catalogue thus returns to being what the studio's name suggests: an ordered collection of images that tell the story of space.
