Slanted Publishers

Slanted Publishers is an independent German publishing house based in Karlsruhe and oriented toward international graphic-design and visual-culture communities. Founded in 2014 by Lars Harmsen and Julia Kahl, the company developed from the wider Slanted editorial platform, whose website began publishing design-related news and event coverage in 2004 and whose print magazine was established in 2005. The publisher’s work sits at the intersection of specialist publishing, design journalism, cultural documentation, and artist or designer monographs. Its best-known continuing title is Slanted, a biannual print magazine devoted to typography and contemporary cultural production. Rather than following a general-interest magazine format, individual issues are commonly organized around a defined typographic, geographic, or cultural theme. The design of each issue is treated as part of the editorial proposition: typography, sequencing, paper, image reproduction, and page architecture are used to interpret the subject. By May 2020, the magazine had reached 35 regular issues, in addition to four special issues published between 2013 and 2020. Topics represented in the special editions included locations and cultural scenes such as Rwanda and Rhineland-Palatinate. Slanted Publishers also produces and distributes books covering type design, poster design, visual systems, illustration, photography, art, and cultural reportage. Its catalog includes yearbooks and reference-oriented publications, such as Yearbook of Type, alongside monographs and project books by individual designers, illustrators, photographers, and studios. Examples include publications on flexible visual systems, Berlin typographic posters, independent type specimens, poster collections, and photographic or documentary projects concerning places and communities. The list demonstrates a deliberately broad interpretation of design publishing: type culture remains central, but the program also embraces social observation, travel, popular culture, contemporary art, and experimental image-making. The publisher’s digital platform, Slanted.de, extends this editorial identity beyond print. Since 2004, the site has published frequent reports, announcements, interviews, portfolios, and event information related to design, typography, illustration, photography, and international creative practice. By 2020, it had presented more than 180 video interviews with design personalities, including Milton Glaser, Steven Heller, Louise Fili, Lance Wyman, Michael Bierut, Niklaus Troxler, and Wolfgang Weingart. This combination of a magazine, book list, online editorial service, and shop gives Slanted Publishers a role both as a specialist media outlet and as a cultural publisher. Recognition has come primarily through design and editorial competitions. The Slanted platform and its publications have been associated with awards and nominations from organizations including the ADC Germany, European Design Awards, iF communication design, LeadAwards, Tokyo Type Directors Club, the German Design Award, and the Designpreis der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. The magazine received a silver Designpreis der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in 2009 and a German Design Award in 2018. The website was also recognized at the 2008 LeadAwards, receiving gold in the Weblog of the Year category, and was identified in that period among prominent German-language corporate blogs. Slanted Publishers therefore occupies a specialist position rather than competing as a mass-market book conglomerate. Its audience includes graphic designers, typographers, art directors, illustrators, photographers, students, educators, collectors, and readers interested in international visual culture. The company’s identity is built around independent editorial selection, strong book and magazine design, and the documentation of contemporary creative practices. Public reference material does not establish a separate parent company, public listing, ownership structure, or current executive roster beyond the named founders.

Slanted Publishers emerged from an editorial and publishing ecosystem focused on graphic design and typography. Its digital platform, Slanted.de, began publishing design news, event information, portfolios, and related material in 2004. The site addressed an international design scene while operating from Germany, and it later became a substantial archive of interviews and visual documentation. By 2020, the platform had published more than 180 video interviews with prominent figures in design and typography, including Milton Glaser, Steven Heller, Louise Fili, Lance Wyman, Michael Bierut, Niklaus Troxler, and Wolfgang Weingart. The print magazine Slanted followed in 2005. It was conceived as a biannual publication about typography and contemporary cultural creation, with each issue organized around a particular typographic, national, geographic, or cultural focus. The magazine’s visual treatment is integral to its editorial approach: each edition uses its design, layout, and typographic choices to frame the material it contains. The publication gradually became the most visible recurring product associated with the Slanted name. By May 2020, 35 regular issues had been published, not counting special editions. Four special issues appeared between 2013 and 2020, including editions devoted to Rwanda and Rhineland-Palatinate. Slanted Publishers was founded in Karlsruhe in 2014 by Lars Harmsen and Julia Kahl. The publishing house expanded the magazine’s editorial perspective into books and related publications. Its list has included type-design surveys, yearbooks, monographs, poster collections, photography books, artist books, design-studio documentation, and publications about visual systems. The program has covered both practical and historical aspects of design while also presenting broader cultural subjects, places, and communities. The resulting catalog links professional design reference with collectible, highly designed print objects. Among the publisher’s recurring or representative projects is Yearbook of Type, a reference-oriented publication documenting typefaces and type culture. Other books have examined the work of individual practitioners and studios, including designers of posters, letterforms, illustrations, visual identities, and experimental images. The catalog has also included documentary projects about locations and social environments, demonstrating that the publisher’s interests extend beyond formal typography into photography, travel, cultural observation, and contemporary art. The company’s recognition has primarily come through design, editorial, and digital-media awards. The Slanted magazine received a silver Designpreis der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in 2009 and a German Design Award in 2018. The broader Slanted project has also been associated with honors from ADC Germany, the European Design Awards, iF communication design, the LeadAwards, Tokyo Type Directors Club, the German Design Award, and other design organizations across the 2000s and 2010s. Slanted.de received gold at the 2008 LeadAwards in the Weblog of the Year category and was listed among prominent German-language corporate blogs during that period. In the 2020–2021 period, the publishing program continued with titles on letterform variation, flexible visual systems, type specimens, poster design, illustration, photography, and cultural documentation. These releases illustrate the publisher’s established model: combine a continuously updated online platform with carefully designed periodicals and books that record current practices in international visual culture. Publicly available reference material identifies Karlsruhe as the base and Lars Harmsen and Julia Kahl as founders, but does not establish a separate parent company, public listing, financial profile, or complete current management structure.

• 2021

  The catalog expands across type, posters, systems, and visual culture

  [3]The catalog expands across type, posters, systems, and visual cultureslanted.de

  The 2021 publishing program includes books on letterforms, type specimens, flexible visual systems, posters, illustration, photography, and cultural documentation.

• 2020

  The magazine reaches 35 regular issues

  [1]Slanted Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  By May 2020, 35 regular issues of Slanted had been published, excluding special editions.

• 2018

  Slanted receives a German Design Award

  [1]Slanted Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  The Slanted magazine project receives recognition at the German Design Award.

• 2014

  Slanted Publishers is founded

  [1]Slanted Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  Lars Harmsen and Julia Kahl establish Slanted Publishers in Karlsruhe as an independent publishing house.

• 2013

  Special-issue program begins

  [1]Slanted Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  Slanted publishes special editions in addition to its regular magazine issues; four such issues were recorded between 2013 and 2020.

• 2009

  Slanted receives a federal design award

  [1]Slanted Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  The magazine receives a silver Designpreis der Bundesrepublik Deutschland.

• 2008

  Slanted.de receives LeadAwards recognition

  [1]Slanted Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  The website receives gold in the Weblog of the Year category at the LeadAwards.

• 2005

  Slanted magazine is founded

  [1]Slanted Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  The biannual Slanted print magazine launches as a publication focused on international design and cultural creation.

• 2004

  Slanted.de begins editorial publishing

  [1]Slanted Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  The Slanted website begins publishing news, events, portfolios, and other material concerning design, typography, illustration, and photography.

Independent specialist publisher for typography, graphic design, illustration, photography, contemporary art, and international visual culture.

• Biannual design and typography magazine · 2005

  Slanted magazine

  Slanted is the publisher’s principal recurring print title. Published twice a year, it covers international graphic design, typography, illustration, photography, and related cultural production. Issues generally adopt a defined typographic, geographic, or country-specific theme, with the editorial concept expressed through the issue’s visual design and layout. The magazine had reached 35 regular issues by May 2020, apart from special editions.

• Type-design reference publication · 2013

  Yearbook of Type

  Yearbook of Type is a reference-oriented series documenting contemporary typefaces and type-design culture. Slanted Publishers has issued editions independently and has also been associated with earlier volumes published with niggli Verlag. The series reflects the publisher’s role in presenting type specimens and contextual information to designers, educators, students, and readers interested in lettering and digital type.

• Thematic design and cultural publications · 2013

  Slanted special issues

  The special issues extend the magazine format through focused editions devoted to particular regions or cultural subjects. Recorded examples include Slanted Special Issue – Rwanda and Slanted Special Issue Rhineland-Palatinate. These editions combine editorial writing, photography, illustration, and design documentation with a location-specific visual and cultural perspective.

• Professional and cultural design books · 2013

  Design and typography books

  The book program includes monographs, studio publications, poster collections, type-specimen books, and studies of visual systems. Representative titles include Flexible Visual Systems, Support Independent Type, Berlin Design Digest, Berlin Typo Posters, and Letterform Variations. These books are aimed at design professionals and students while also functioning as materially considered cultural publications.

• Photography, art, and documentary publishing · 2013

  Photography and visual-culture books

  Slanted’s catalog also encompasses photography, illustration, contemporary art, and documentary projects. Examples include books about the Oktoberfest, Cairo, Cuba, the Western Balkans, Apulia, and other cultural or geographic subjects. The publications use photography and visual sequencing to document people, places, and creative practices rather than restricting the list to formal design theory.

• Digital editorial platform · 2004

  Slanted.de

  Slanted.de is the publisher’s online news, portfolio, interview, event, and shop platform. Since 2004 it has covered international design, typography, illustration, and photography, presenting creative work and industry information alongside video interviews with practitioners. The site complements the print magazine and books by providing more frequent and timely editorial coverage.

• 2020

  Expansion of special-issue and book-led publishingStrategy

  Background

  By 2020, Slanted had developed a substantial magazine history and an established online audience.

  Action taken

  The publisher continued combining regular magazine issues and regional or thematic special editions with books on type, posters, visual systems, photography, and contemporary culture.

  Aftermath

  The publishing program presented Slanted as a broader specialist design and visual-culture house rather than only a magazine publisher.

  Source

• 2014

  Formal establishment of an independent publishing houseStrategy

  Background

  The Slanted editorial platform and magazine had already established a design-focused audience before the publishing house was created.

  Action taken

  Lars Harmsen and Julia Kahl founded Slanted Publishers in Karlsruhe, consolidating the Slanted name around books, magazines, and digital editorial work.

  Aftermath

  The company expanded its catalog beyond the magazine into type references, design monographs, poster books, photography, illustration, and broader visual-culture publications.

  Source

• 2005

  Launch of the Slanted print magazineProduct launch

  Background

  The existing Slanted online editorial identity centered on international graphic design and typography.

  Action taken

  Slanted introduced a biannual print magazine whose issues use focused typographic, geographic, or cultural themes.

  Aftermath

  The magazine became the publisher’s principal recurring product and later accumulated design-award recognition.

  Source

• 2021

  Slanted publishes a new series of design and visual-culture books[3]The catalog expands across type, posters, systems, and visual cultureslanted.de

  Product launch

  The 2021 catalog included books on letterform variation, flexible visual systems, posters, type specimens, illustration, photography, and contemporary cultural projects.

• 2020

  Slanted magazine reaches 35 regular issues[1]Slanted Publishersen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Reference material recorded 35 regular issues of the biannual Slanted magazine by May 2020, excluding special editions.

1. 1Slanted Publishersen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Slanted.de official websiteslanted.de
3. 3The catalog expands across type, posters, systems, and visual cultureslanted.de