Work/Atlas Archive
Atlas Archive
A reading room for an independent press.
- Client
- Atlas Editions
- Role
- Lead Product Designer
- Discipline
- Editorial · Web
- Timeline
- 14 weeks
- Year
- 2025
Tools
Figma · Framer · Notion
[ 01 ] The brief
A long-form reading platform for an independent publishing house, built around the rhythm of a printed book — generous margins, considered typography, and a quiet, focused interface.
Atlas Editions wanted to move their archive online without losing the deliberate pacing of their print catalogue. Existing platforms either stripped the work into noisy feeds or buried it under bloated CMS chrome.
[ 02 ] Approach
- 01
Spent two weeks reading the back catalogue cover to cover before opening Figma. The interface had to feel like an extension of the book, not a container for it.
- 02
Built a typographic system around a single display face and a single reading face, with a measure tied to optical line length rather than a column grid.
- 03
Designed reading sessions, not pages — bookmarks, margin notes and slow scroll are first-class citizens.
[ 03 ] Selected screens
FIG. 01
Reading view
[ 04 ] Decisions
No infinite scroll
Each essay ends. The cursor stops. The next piece is a deliberate choice, not a default.
One accent, used twice
Vermillion appears on the index marker and the in-text footnote. Nowhere else. Restraint became a feature.
Margin notes as canon
Editor commentary lives in the actual margin on desktop, collapses to a footnote on mobile — the structure responds, the hierarchy doesn't.
[ 05 ] Outcomes
- 01
Average session length increased from 2m 14s to 11m 48s in the first month.
- 02
Subscription conversions doubled against the legacy Squarespace site.
- 03
Featured in It's Nice That and Typewolf within the launch week.
[ 06 ] Adjacent work
Next project →
Meridian OS