03 / Selected workCollection Art Direction / Editorial Design / Ongoing

Klasyki
Albatrosa.

A home for stories
that outlive trends.
Wydawnictwo Albatros
Hardcover literary collection
Four hardcover classics displayed above their decorated open endpapers on pale sandstone: Prochy Angeli, Rebeka, Kolej podziemna and Paragraf 22

Klasyki Albatrosa — four hardcover editions and their illustrated endpapers.

The brief / The idea

Some stories should
always have a place.

Every year brings more books than any reader can keep up with. But some stories deserve to remain within reach — across generations, trends and changing tastes. The ongoing Klasyki Albatrosa collection gives these works a lasting place on the shelf in distinctive hardcover editions designed to be read, kept and returned to.

A shared identity. An individual voice for every book.

My challenge was to give radically different authors, eras and stories a recognisable common language without making them look alike. I developed a flexible editorial framework: consistent enough to define a collection, open enough for every cover to tell its own story. Timeless, but never austere.

Art direction & visual systemCollection visual concept
Recurring editorial layout
Cover & physical editionsOriginal cover and endpaper artwork
Production-conscious design
Visual identity & continuityCollection logo and visual system
Ongoing, expandable series
01 / The visual language

One collection.
Many worlds.

A paper-like panel anchors each cover: refined serif type, thin rules and a subtly folded corner form a recognisable signature. Beyond that shared structure, illustration, colour and atmosphere can change entirely. The reader sees a family of books — not a repeated template.

Four upright hardcover books, Chłopiec z latawcem, Wyznania gejszy, Lista Schindlera and Życie Pi, arranged on sandstone in warm side light
Four literary voices, connected by one editorial system.

I also designed a dedicated logo for Klasyki Albatrosa. It supports the series identity without competing with the covers.

02 / An evolving library

Designed to last.
Designed to grow.

The collection is an open-ended system, not a closed set. New titles can join it without a visual reset — from major prize-winning novels to books that have shaped generations of readers. Each addition gets its own imagery, mood and palette while remaining unmistakably part of the same library.

Five hardcover classics laid out in sunlight: Sycylijczyk, Ojciec Chrzestny, Klara i Słońce, Serce to samotny myśliwy and Angielski pacjent
An expanding collection. Five individual cover designs in one visual family.
03 / Beyond the cover

Designed as books.
Not just covers.

For me, the design does not stop at the front cover. Illustrated endpapers extend each book’s visual world into the moment it is opened. Format, binding, surfaces and finishing are also part of how a book feels and how it is valued. I bring these considerations into the design process and develop production solutions with the wider publishing team, balancing creative intent with practical and budgetary realities.

The connecting idea

Stories worth keeping.
A collection built to stay.

One enduring editorial framework, with enough freedom for each story to be its own.

Credits.

Collection concept, art direction and visual system
Kasia Meszka — visual concept, typography, recurring layout and art direction for the collection.
Cover and endpaper artwork
Kasia Meszka — all covers and illustrated endpapers shown in this case study; design decisions carried through to the physical editions in collaboration with production.
Collection logo
Kasia Meszka — logo designed for Klasyki Albatrosa.
Publishing collaboration
Wydawnictwo Albatros — publisher, selection of works.