Best Book and Cover Designs of 2023 Revealed

By AIGA

October 02, 2024

Media Contact

Michelle Koenigsknecht

(212) 710-3138 michelle_koenigsknecht@aiga.org

Remarkable Winners Announced for AIGA’s 50 Books | 50 Covers Competition’s 100th Year

 

New York, NY—Today, AIGA, the professional association for design, announced the results of the AIGA 50 Books | 50 Covers of 2023 competition. With 542 book and cover design entries from 28 countries, this year’s competition recognizes and showcases excellence in book design from around the world.

Since its inception in 1923 as the Fifty Books of the Year competition, this annual event highlights AIGA’s 100th year of competition and a continued commitment to uplifting powerful and compelling design in a familiar format we know and love. As book jackets became more prevalent, the competition evolved with the field to acknowledge excellence in cover design. Beginning in 1995, the competition became known as 50 Books | 50 Covers

“One hundred years into this competition, the book seems to be as protean and chimeric as ever. At times confounded and delighted, we asked ourselves [during the judging process], Is this a course packet or a manifesto? A sculpture or a monograph? A glossary or a guidebook? Is this book contemporary or retro? Gauche or chic? We debated books that blended the grotesque with the goofy alongside books that were delicate, subtle, and difficult to emotionally classify,", said Rob Giampietro, AIGA 50 Books | 50 Covers Chair. "In the end, we felt we found some of the best of this year’s offerings, books that in every case seem to show what design can do to bring the experience of reading to riskier-yet-more-rewarding places.”

Selections from this year’s jurors can be viewed in the Winners Gallery.

AIGA thanks this year’s panel of esteemed jurors

  • Rob Giampietro, Head of Creative, Notion (Chair)
  • JP Haynie, Creative Director / Partner, Actual Source
  • Roanne Adams, Founder and Executive Creative Director, RoAndCo Studio
  • Lisa Maione, Associate Professor of Graphic Design, Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) and Creative Director, for instance a design practice
  • Chloe Sultan, Director, Clocks

The 2023 winning selections will become part of the AIGA collection at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University’s Butler Library in the city of New York.

Eligible entries for the 2023 competition were open to books published and used in the marketplace in 2023. Entries for 50 Books | 50 Covers of 2024 will open in November 2024.

###

Media Contact

Michelle Koenigsknecht

(212) 710-3138 michelle_koenigsknecht@aiga.org

AIGA

AIGA, the professional association for design, advances design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force. As the largest community of design advocates, AIGA creates the vision for a collective future and brings together practitioners, enthusiasts, and patrons to amplify the voice of design. AIGA defines global standards and ethical practices, guides design education, inspires designers and the public, enhances professional development, and makes powerful tools and resources accessible to all.