Verso
A reading site for an independent publisher where every book opens to its first page.
Digital
Strategy
2026
Overview
Verso is a concept for a small publisher of essays and short fiction. The site sells books by letting people read them.
Project
Concept, self-initiated
Sector
Independent publishing
Year
2026
Disciplines
Digital, Strategy
Services
Content strategy, Website design, Reading interface
The challenge.
Publisher sites look like shops. Covers sit in grids and the writing is hidden behind a buy button.
Objectives
01
Open every book to its first page
02
Reading that feels like paper, not a feed
03
Buying in two steps from any page
Strategy
Every book page leads with the opening paragraphs, set for reading. The cover, price and buy button wait at the end of the extract.
Exploration and system.
A magazine-style home page with features and lists tested well with staff but pulled readers away from the books. We cut it to a single shelf.
Type
Inter for the interface; extracts set larger and looser for long reading.
Paper
#F2EEE6
Ink
#141414
Margin
#7A7A7A
The outcome.
A reading-first site with a shelf, an extract template and a two-step checkout.
More work, from the same desk.
About this project.
What a concept project is, and what it means for yours.