Editorial design for institutions and corporations
We make complex written content readable and navigable. Our work transforms manuals, reports, and institutional publications into clear, structured documents that serve their readers.
What we design
You and your team have a 'semi-final Word document',
but it lacks the structure and formatting it needs
to communicate your message to its audience.
Editorial design for institutional reports
We design publications that make sense
to readers.
Roadmaps
We structure instructions for immediate comprehension.
Reports
We present research findings in an
engaging and
easy-to-navigate way
Manuals and training materials
We format instructions
so users can follow and find them without confusion or repetition.
Clear matter studio is a small editorial design practice
We work with institutions, research organizations, and corporate teams to
publish complex written content for peers and clients.
We focus on making content clear, structured, and usable.
Institutions, publishers and teams with whom we have worked before, separately or together:
How we approach your work
We work through deliberate stages.
Carefully building, and moving from understanding to finished publication.
Analysis
We examine your content, understand your audience, and evaluate your goals. Understanding the material comes first.
Structuring
We create a preliminary draft based on your corporate identity and goals, and listen to your feedback to arrive at a visual language and method that engages your audience.
Polish
We work together with your team until every element of the publication is polished and accurate. We deliver engaging, dynamic final files in interactive, print, and web formats.
VIPROM Roadmap for Victim Protection and Informed Medical Care
Paul Harbinger, Michaela Scheriau (Ed.)
The challenge
VIPROM needed to publish an accessible and engaging complex roadmap for their training platform in a usable format for medical care specialists and future trainers. The original document was dense, the content was well structured but as a Word document the material was dense and difficult to navigate.
Our approach
We analysed the content structure, identified information
hierarchies, and designed a system and visual language that gave space and clarity to each chapter. With a heading system and colours that aided its navigation, clear section breaks with chapter opening illustrations, and consistent typography, we made the material scannable and bright.
The result
We guided the team through the editorial and design process to arrive at a final publication in both print and interactive digital formats, ensuring its ease of access for any training style. The publication has a warm character with stylized illustrations, helping to make a complex topic approachable and accessible. We made sure readers can navigate and locate specific information quickly without losing the depth and rigor of the content.
Projects overview
Below is a selection of our projects with links to final content when available.
STICKERS: From Punk Rock to Contemporary Art
Use With Care
Data Loam Book
Unfinished Memories / 30 Years of Exit Art
Voices from the field
Real testimonials from real clients.
Wirtschactsagentur Wien
What we do
and what we don't
We specialise in editorial design for complex written content. If your team has a 'boring word doc' that can use some help, we are the right fit!
We are not a branding studio or creative agency, but we can guide you towards a strong and effective visual language for your publication.
We do
Editorial design
Information architecture
Typography systems
Layout templates
Color palettes
Production direction
Illustration sourcing
We don't
Corporate identity
Advertising
Photography
Copywriting
Editing
Content strategy
We are two designers with decades of experience
in publication and corporate design.
We founded clear matter studio to bring that expertise to institutions and research organisations.
Two designers
working as one
We work together on every project. This means direct communication, shared decision-making, flexibility in scheduling, and consistent quality across all stages of your publication.
Direct input
You speak with both of us.
No intermediaries, and no handoffs between junior and senior staff.
Shared standards
We have worked together for years. Our approach is aligned and our communication is seemless. Your project benefits from that continuity.
Send us your questions!
If you have a publication project, we'd like to help.
Send us a note about what you're working on:
Answers
Practical answers to questions about scope, timeline, and how we collaborate with your team.
We can provide:
Print-ready files, directly to you or your printer
Interactive, web-ready PDFs
Working and packaged InDesign files compatible with your software
Any other formats suited to your distribution needs
We confirm output requirements early in the process
so the final publication works exactly as you need it.
Most projects run four to eight weeks from analysis to delivery, depending on document length and editorial complexity. We are also able to accommodate expedited timelines.
After initially reviewing your material, we provide a clear production timeline with deadlines and bench marks to ensure we can meet your desired release date.
Yes, and we love to. It makes our job easier! We integrate your visual standards and corporate identity into the design systems we create, from typography to graphics. Our role is to apply those guidelines in ways that serve your content structure and readability.
No. We work with the content you provide. If text needs restructuring, we'll flag it, but we don't rewrite copy or develop strategy.
We do, however, have a network of talented copywriters, strategists, and translators that we are happy to recommend.
Revisions are built into our process. We include feedback rounds in our timeline. Significant scope changes after the initial agreement may affect schedule and cost.
Anything is possible. It depends on the scope of project and your budget. However, we prefer to work on a timeline of approximately 4 weeks which gives us time for multiple drafts and revisions.
Our rates are based on
We are capable of working with pretty much any format of document to get started. Our preference is an an as-final-as-possible Microsoft Word or InDesign file to get started.
Do you?
We like to base our designs on exisiting visual language associated with your organisation. So we can work with as little as an internal memo, logo, or website to get started, and are happy to work with a full set of corporate identity guidelines if you have them.
Yes. We can design, produce and export for any format required for your project deliverables.
Yes. We have years of experience working with everyone from print-on-demand to bespoke art house printers.
Yes. In fact, we must. Although if you are based in Vienna we would love to stop by your office for a kick-off meeting.
We are fluent in English, Spanish, Italian and Basque, operational in German, and can design in any language.
Anything is possible, but our focus is on our "do's".