About

Why the name?

Sometimes looking into the past allows us to understand the present; and sometimes a name says something about the character of a person, or how they want to be perceived by the public, ergo: the word ‘obvious’ comes from the Latin obvius, that is, “in the way, presenting itself readily, commonplace,” from obviam (adv.) “in the way,” from ob “against” + viam, acc. of via “way.” Meaning “plain to see, evident” is first recorded 1635.

The ‘in-the-way’ part of the word obviam has made it into the company’s logo: a rock in the road, clearly in the way.

Who is behind ObviousPress?

Obvious Press is the private print label of the designer, scholar, and maker-of-things polytekton, aka Mikesch Muecke. Obvious Press shares office space with Culicidae Press, Culicidae Architectural Press, Hog Press, Zanzara Press, and Handcar Press in Ames, Iowa, but most of the time our offerings are put together on the road using a laptop.

The frequency of Obvious Press publications is completely dependent on our designer’s whims—and he is often busy on paid projects for Culicidae Press and its imprints—but during a typical year he might publish one or two books. Stay tuned for updates on our main page, and if you’d like to say hello in real life, visit us at our global headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.

Alternatively, drop us a line using this form over at Culicidae Press, and we’ll write back as soon as possible.