Phaidon and Moleskine are two of Europe's most renowned publishing houses, both known for their exquisitely beautiful editions and powerful hold on the imaginations of artists, designers and thinkers.
Phaidon was launching the Phaidon Design Classics, a design sourcebook detailing the 999 most innovative, beautiful and influential products created in the last 200 years. It didn't have to look far to find the best way to promote the new edition: the Moleskine notebook was already listed as Phaidon Design Classic number 17.

The 999 design icons were selected for Phaidon Design Classics by a panel of experts that included designers, architects, critics, curators,  journalists and academics.
Only the most definitive models of lasting influence and enduring significance were chosen. Each entry includes a brief on the product, including its designers, manufacture and history. Included objects, like Moleskine, are characterized by simplicity, balance and purity of form.

Following the European launch of the book, which took place at The Conran Shop in London, Phaidon came to Moleskine to create an exclusive, personal gift for its clients to celebrate the New York launch. The venue for the launch was the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), attended by leading designers and architects, not to mention legions of design devotees.

Personalization and customization of the Moleskine notebook can take many forms, but for Phaidon something special was required. Moleskine created a 999-piece limited edition of the Phaidon Design Classic notebook, with each piece inscribed by hand from one to 999. The clean, striking design of the paper band emulates the font chosen for the cover of the Design Classics edition itself. Beneath the paper band, the Phaidon Design Classics name is stamped in clear foil, bringing out the design and emphasizing the shape of the type via a subtle luster.