Anja Niedringhaus – At War
PROJECT Book DESIGN Concept / Book CLIENT Hatje Cantz, Berlin / Germany

Pulitzer Prize-winning German photojournalist Anja Niedringhaus reported from war zones and areas of conflict. Her photographs distil complex situations into singular, precise moments – images that tell stories far beyond the events they document. In April 2014, Niedringhaus was shot dead at a checkpoint in Afghanistan. The design of the book follows the directness of her photography. Reduction is understood not simply as formal restraint, but as a deliberate framework for the images and the stories behind their creation. The concept began with short anecdotes by Anja Niedringhaus about individual photographs. They describe the situations, encounters and moments behind the images. The typography reflects the form in which these texts reached us: typewritten. Their original material quality thus becomes part of the design, creating an immediate and personal layer alongside the photographs. Only one colour photograph appears in the entire book – on the final page. Through this restraint, it takes on particular significance and provides a deliberate closing moment.