50 Books/50 Covers of 2009

December 9, 2010–April 8, 2011

Since 1923, AIGA's “50 Books/50 Covers” competition has recognized excellence in book design and production. This exhibition showcases the best-designed books and book covers published in 2009, selected in the 2010 competition by a distinguished jury that included David Drummond (Salamander Hill Design, Elgin, Quebec), Paul Kepple (Headcase Design, Philadelphia), Peter Mendelsund (Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, New York), Molly Renda (North Carolina State University, Raleigh) and Tracey Shiffman (Shiffman & Kohnke, Los Angeles).

AIGA is committed to using selections from its annual competitions to demonstrate the process of design, the role of the designer, and the value of design to business, culture and society at large. Each year, the competition selections are published in AIGA's online archives at designarchives.aiga.org, featured in an annual publication, exhibited at the AIGA National Design Center and preserved in the AIGA Design Archives at the Denver Art Museum in Colorado. In addition, selections from each year's “50 Books/50 Covers” competition are housed in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University.

All selections are searchable and browsable in the AIGA Design Archives, which includes a variety of images, full credits, project statements and jurors' comments.

Exhibition design: Triboro Design, New York

Exhibition catalogue

AIGA is publishing 50 Books/50 Covers of 2009, an exhibition catalogue featuring each of this year's selections along with jurors' comments. The book, designed by Triboro Design, will be available for purchase at Blurb.com.

Blurb.com, the on-demand publishing platform, is the Presenting Sponsor of
50 Books/50 Covers of 2009, and AIGA's newest partner.

Gallery hours and location

Monday through Thursday: 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Friday: 11:00 a.m–5:00 p.m.
164 Fifth Avenue (between 21st and 22nd Streets) in New York [map]