What does a beautiful book mean in the 21st century? This issue of Graphic features book competitions that judge the “beauty” of contending books. By interviewing members of the various committees and juries and recording the comments of designers associated with the winning books, the issue probes what it means to be “a beautiful book” and examines current trends in book design.

A total of eight competitions or events are included: national competitions (from the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Sweden as well as the best-known one, The Most Beautiful Swiss Books) that reflect the book culture of their respective countries; the Best Book Design From All Over the World held in Germany, which is the most representative international competition; the Walter Tiemann Prize which is a unique competition focusing on typography; and Beautiful Books in Korea, which was held for the first time to select Korean books with excellent design.

Includes interviews with Just Enschedé, Julien Magnani, Anisha Imhasly, Greger Bergvall, Pierre Huygebaert, Lim Kyungyong and others. Because all awarded books are shown accompanied by comments from the judges, this issue becomes a snapshot of contemporary design at the time of publication.

Designed by Na Kim

Published by Propaganda Press, 2012

Bilingual, text in Korean and English

208 pages, full color and b&w illustrations, 9 × 12 in.

ISBN: 978-89-966622-2-8