Best Book and Book Cover Designs of 2024 Revealed

Winners Announced for AIGA’s 50 Books | 50 Covers Competition

New York, NY—AIGA, the professional association for design, announced the results of the AIGA 50 Books | 50 Covers of 2024 competition. With 523 book and cover design entries from over 24 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 101st 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. 

Selections from this year’s jurors can be viewed in the Winners Gallery and 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 2024 competition were open to books published and used in the marketplace in 2024. Entries for 50 Books | 50 Covers of 2025 will open in December 2025.

AIGA thanks this year’s panel of esteemed jurors: 

• JP Haynie, Creative Director / Partner, Actual Source (Chair)

• Carolyn Thomas, Graphic Design Lead at The Frick Collection

• Gabriela Namie, Visual Lead at Google

• Ghazal Foroutan, Designer and Educator at Peelē Studio & California State University San Marcos

• Hassan Rahim, Creative Director at 12:01 AM

• Scott Vander Zee, Graphic Designer / Typeface Designer

“As a jury, we had the unique opportunity to view 523 entries from practitioners working in the book design field. It is encouraging that designers continue to be interested in this medium and are currently developing new ways of working with publishers and printers to push our discipline further. It was a difficult task to narrow the entries down to 100 winners.” Said JP Haynie, AIGA 50 Books | 50 Covers Chair.

Giulia Donatello, AIGA’s Design Competitions and Event Manager, also played a key leadership role in orchestrating this year’s 50 Books | 50 Covers competition. She oversaw the planning and execution of all stages, from the international call for entries to the final jury deliberations. Under her direction, the competition experienced record revenue, with submissions from over 24 countries. Giulia’s thoughtful coordination of the global jury and her commitment to elevating design excellence ensured a seamless and transparent judging process, reflecting AIGA’s mission to celebrate innovation and craft in design worldwide.

“We had a fruitful conversation with design leaders from various fields and industries to evaluate what makes a great book design,” said Donatello. “We analyzed originality and quality, as well as the design’s ability to draw attention and generate interest. We also considered how each piece stood out creatively compared to others in the field, and whether the design execution was polished and professional with attention to a cohesive system, typography, alignment, spacing, and overall readability.”

AIGA serves as a partner for publishers to provide winning selections from Phaidon Press at a discount to their audiences using code AIGA24 at checkout. Winning selections from these publishers include:

• Architecture, Not Architecture (Book)

• I Love It. What Is It? (Cover)

• Elizabeth Roberts Architects: Collected Stories (Cover)

• About Face: Stonewall, Revolt, and New Queer Art (Book) 

Learn more about AIGA’s book partner discounts at the AIGA Bookshelf.

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