Unit Editions is an independent British

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

publishing company Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

founded in 2009 by writer Adrian Shaughnessy and graphic designers Tony Brook and Patricia Finegan. Headquartered in London, Unit Editions is known for elaborately produced publications that focus on niche topics in

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

and visual culture. Their stated mission is to publish books on “subjects that are either neglected or ignored by mainstream publishers.” Unit Editions distributes books directly to customers, selling about 85% of them through its website, and occasionally employing

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

platforms like

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

and Volume. Most of its books are produced in relatively small print runs of 1000–3000 copies, and some titles sell out quickly. The majority of books are designed by Spin Studio, run by the imprint’s co-founder Tony Brook. In 2023, British publishing house

Thames & Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

acquired rights to Unit Editions’ past publications and future titles.

Awards and recognition

''Eating with the eyes'', a collection of photographs by designer and

Pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle around ...

partner Harry Pearce, designed by Pentagram and published by Unit Editions in 2016, won the 2016 D&AD Award. Unit Editions was nominated in the graphic design section of the 'Beazley Designs of the Year' exhibition at London's

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London, England, exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all fund ...

in 2017 and included in ''

Creative Review ''Creative Review'' is a bimonthly print magazine and website. The magazine focuses on commercial creativity, covering design, advertising, photography, branding, digital products, film, and gaming. The magazine is published bimonthly in print an ...

''’s Creative Leaders list in 2018.

Published titles

As of 2025, Unit Editions’ imprint includes more than 50 published titles, including

monographs A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

on celebrated graphic designers like FHK Henrion, Lance Wyman,

, Ken Garland, Herb Lubalin, and Paula Scher. Each title published by Unit Editions is identified with a sequential number, usually placed on the book’s copyright page or covers.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unit Editions Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Visual arts publishing companies Book publishing companies based in London British companies established in 2009 2009 establishments in England Publishing companies established in 2009