The Portfolio and the Diagram is a revised Korean translation of the author’s chief work, originally published in English in 2006. The book investigates how architectural publications have historically reshaped how architecture, as a discipline, is seen, read, and discussed. It compares two modes of representation in particular: a mimetic portfolio practice from the nineteenth century and a more abstract articulation of relations through the diagram developed in the next century.

The book’s design is inspired by the way these historical modes of representation coexisted, competed, and ultimately transposed one another. It juxtaposes two contrasting typographic traditions – a classical, centered arrangement with a serif typeface for the body text, and a modern, asymmetrical layout with a sans-serif typeface for the other elements of the page – within the same space. The cover presents this juxtaposition more forcefully by repeating the same text twice, as if two cover designs of the same book were printed on top of each other.

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