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Minimalist editorial design for Trinität by Japanese designer Yuta Takahashi

Japanese art director and designer Yuta Takahashi has designed a special edition of the book Trinität, a text by German theologian Michael Debus which he wrote following a visit to Japan in 2013 and 2014.

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Two minimalist book covers for Trinität designed by Yuta Takahashi, featuring geometric black and white shapes stacked together

A mathematician, philosopher and ordained priest, Debus presented his ideas and theories to the Japanese people, but failed to convince them. And so he wrote two volumes of what is known as 'Trinität' – a book to reflect upon his travels in the Land of the Rising Sun as well as his unsuccessful mission to gain acceptance of his doctrine.

Takahashi used a simple black and white palette and minimalist symbols to create two separate books for the two volumes. In Japan, when a book is published in this way, it's called Joh – for the upper part – and Ge, for the lower. These two aspects formed a central theme for Takahashi's work, with each cover individually designed and stacked on top of one another to form one complementary product.

Discover more about Takahashi at www.yutatakahashi.jp.

Two stacked books with black and white geometric triangle covers designed by Yuta Takahashi for Trinität by Michael Debus
Two-volume book set for Trinität stacked together, with black and white geometric X-shaped design on covers and black spine with bookmark ribbon
Two stacked book volumes of Trinität designed by Yuta Takahashi, with black and white covers featuring minimalist geometric shapes and Japanese text
Minimalist cover design for Trinität showing two Roman numerals II in black on white paper with a black pen at the edge
Open book showing two pages with black and white architectural photographs and Japanese text captions on a white background
Open book with black covers showing Japanese text across two pages against a light background
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