El Safrà
Publication about the history, tradition and uses of saffron.
Obrador Edèndum, 2019
Saffron is one of the most ancient, cherished and versatile substances on earth.
Its consumption has held steady throughout more than three millennia and it has been present in different cultures, continents and civilizations. Commonly known as “red gold”, it is an essential spice used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries.
Since the Middle Ages until the 18th century, Santa Coloma Queralt was considered one of the world’s leading saffron suppliers.
The difficulty that saffron cultivation entails, which has given it an almost mythical reputation, has not stopped Santa Coloma Queralt from restarting its production.
The publishing house Obrador Edèndum decided to launch a new monographic collection related to local culture called “Quaderns de cultura” and feature saffron as the central figure in the first edition of the series. With this new collection, the publisher, specialized in scientific and humanistic literature, intended to release conventional content without disregarding the characteristic intellectual rigour of their signature.
Ensuring the informative mainstream and also the intellectual nature of the publication was one of our main challenges.
With this purpose, we focused on a format similar to magazines, which could suit every reading and approach. We developed an expressive and delicate language through a combined range of typography and different paper grades.
Focused on saffron, the first issue includes a history overview and delves into its cultivation and commerce. Aside traditional recipes and interesting facts, it provides a detailed analysis on different varieties and purposes. To enhance some specific sections, we requested illustrations from authors with different styles and also carried out a photo essay.
The publication had a very positive reception among the local people.
Readers could relate to a content they could easily recognize as their own which was also enhanced with an added value design that evoked book collecting. In addition, Obrador Edèndum has expanded beyond the local area and attained access to big and small bookstores in several cities like Barcelona, while at the same time has increased the number of reading customers and enriched the image and identity of the publishing house.