Mau’s breakthrough started with a client, Michel Feher, editor of Zone books in 1989. The project was a series of book call Zone 3/4/5: Fragments for a History of the Human Body. Mau already design Feher other Zone series Zone ½: The Contemporary City. The books were about a complex multi-perspective embodiment of urbanism from philosophers. Its cover feature graphic elements such as saturated color and textured images. Mau’s company (Bruce Mau Design) developed a skill to not just design by the look but the story itself, similar to the metamorphic phrase don’t judge a book by its cover.
The Zone Book 1
defluence 
I really agree with “design by the look but the story itself” theory. i was looking at the zone 1 cover and i got confused because, the cover you posted and the one i saw are different, are there two covers for zone 1? the one i saw had a human body.
mansoureh
He had many designs,
http://www.brucemaudesign.com/4817/97552/work/zone
– Marissa