A book for your company's 25th, 50th or 100th anniversary.
In Morocco, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon: SMK Éditions designs and produces the anniversary book, from framing to binding.
Who it is for
Family businesses handing over to the next generation, groups celebrating half a century, SMEs that want to tell newcomers where they come from. Institutions too: a chamber, a federation, a school. What they share: a date, and people who made that history and are still there to be heard.
What the book contains
A story, not a report. The beginnings, the turning points, the crises weathered, the faces. Interviews with the founders, long-serving staff, long-standing clients. Archives found, sorted, captioned. A photographic report commissioned for the book, at today's sites. And, if you wish, a closing chapter that looks ahead.
How we work
We start from the date and work backwards. A framing document sets the message, the audience and the use: a gift to staff, copies handed to partners, part of an exhibition. Then research, writing, layout, production, each approved by you before the next. One contact on our side, from the first meeting to delivery.
Timeline and budget
Twelve to eighteen months before the date, to work without haste; five months is a minimum if the archives are in good order. A print run of a few hundred copies is often enough: this book is given, not sold.
The budget is quoted once the project has been framed. It depends on the format, the number of pages, the imagery to be produced and the print run. We always propose two options, so that the decision rests on figures rather than impressions.
What you keep
The rights to the texts, photographs and illustrations produced for the book are assigned to you by contract, with the permitted uses specified. The sorted archives, recorded interviews and documented imagery stay with you, and can be reused in other media.
Frequently asked questions
Our archives fit in two boxes. Is that enough?
Often, yes. The interviews do the rest, and we go and find what is missing: newspapers of the period, public archives, the founding families' albums.
The date is six months away. Too late?
Not if the archives are in good order: five months is our minimum. The schedule will be tight, with less room for review rounds. If they are scattered, a short format, a booklet or an exhibition of prints can be ready in time, and the book can follow a year later.
Can the book be bilingual?
Yes, from the outset: French-English, French-Arabic. The layout is designed for both languages, not translated afterwards.
Is your company turning 25, 50 or 100?
An anniversary book is prepared twelve to eighteen months before the date. Tell us the year and we will tell you what is still possible.