Richard Wright, owner of the eponymous Chicago auction house, commissioned Thirst to direct the design of a piece that would command attention from the right kind of buyers. Commenting on his company’s previously well-recognized catalogs, Wright says, “With the catalogs, we changed the industry. We recognized that if you’re going to sell design, it should be in a well-designed book.” Design director Rick Valicenti, in collaboration with Wright designers and photographers, responded with an uncomplicated yet still lavish concept for the Bertoia sale book—one that features a simple typographic hierarchy, a palette of rich papers and stellar photography. Directed and designed within Wright’s auction studio, this publication “is interesting on many levels,” says Valicenti, “but for me it really works within a narrow visual range. While the grid is simple, no two page spreads share the same layout.” by Sheree Clark