Pages is a bilingual Farsi/English magazine. It began in 2004 as an attempt to bring about an exchange between Iranian and international authors and artists with a critical look at art, urbanism and social issues. The first four numbers were unbound loose sheets folded into each other. Starting with issue 5 the format has been reduced and the magazine is now glue-bound.

The starting point is that the two languages should have equal treatment, both typographically and in their layout. There are also two ‘front covers’, one at the front and the other at the back. For English readers the magazine runs from beginning to end and for Farsi readers from end to beginning – seen from the Western perspective. The English pages are always on the right-hand side, the Farsi always on the left. The contents run parallel to avoid the need to repeat illustrations, so that the Farsi is reversed relative to the English content and vice versa. The text columns are centred, adding emphasis to the non-hierarchical structure.

The covers are printed in a single colour on coloured paper, with an abstract pattern playing on the theme of the issue.

That such slight resources can be used to realize such a clean, powerful and distinguishing profile is a credit to the designers