Showing readers what other designers have done in the same context is no easy task. The theme of this year’s ‘Christmas’ number of Grafisch Nederland was describing, in words and pictures, the seventy-five Christmas numbers to have appeared so far – and to present them as objectively as possible. Besides, given the large number of articles written specially for it, this Christmas number is much more than in previous years an issue to be read rather than looked at. The designer has gone for a careful and consistently maintained layout: the background articles appear at the edge of each spread, either left or right. The rest is reserved for the descriptions of the Christmas numbers, each one including the cover, a spread and much technical information. The typography is highly legible, easy to follow and in no way obtrusive. Every now and again a spread from one of the earlier numbers is printed to fill the page, which provides adequate relief from any monotony in the rhythm.

The inconspicuous black-and-white cover has been put in a beautifully cut-and-folded slip case that cleverly plays with the titles of the Christmas numbers on the front and back, with dates of publication on the sides. In the case of the earlier years some of the title lines have not been filled in; the effect verges on poetry.