In an attempt to visually frame an issue as critical yet simultaneously sensitive as that of Palestine, the primary concern was to approach it directly while maintaining the necessary balance — avoiding, in accordance with the character of the text, both downplaying the situation as well as any excessive sensationalism. Less design, but more semantically loaded.
The cover, in a gray hue inspired by the materiality of the wall separating Israelis and Palestinians, is based on the rendering of the title in sturdy stencil typography — an explicit reference to the prohibitive spray-painted inscriptions one encounters in Palestinian territories under Israeli occupation. At the same time, however, the composition is interrupted by a debossed embossing in the shape of the outline of Palestine, partially obscuring the title and indirectly evoking a slit or wound on the surface of the paper. The back cover, overlaid with the traces of a halftone photograph of ruins in Gaza, adds a further sense of immediacy and rawness. The design approach of the cover develops organically into the body of the book, with the first typographic signature printed in a deep red color.
Finally, the layout of the main chapters is based on the idea of gradually increasing the inner margin (gutter) from chapter to chapter—thus gradually reducing the text width and incorporating into the reading process itself the notions of displacement and expansion (something further emphasized by the vertical lines), elevating the book to something more than a purely utilitarian textbook.
