The Most Beautiful Swiss Books – 70^th edition 2014

Established at the behest of the famous typographer and designer Jan Tschichold in 1943, the competition The Most Beautiful Swiss Books has been organised by the Federal Office of Culture since 1998. Previously, the Swiss Association of Booksellers and Publishers was in charge of the event. The 2013 edition was comprised of 22 books chosen from around 400 submissions, awarded by a five-member jury in January 2014.

The SDA blog will post impressions of the awarded publications, starting with the book ‘Meret Oppenheim. Worte nicht in giftige Buchstaben einwickeln’. Published by Zürich-based publisher Scheidegger & Spiess and designed by Bonbon (Valeria Bonin, Diego Bontognali), the book on her writings and correspondences was also awarded the Golden Letter at the international competition ‘Best Book Design from all over the World’, the highest distinction of its kind.

No doubt, this preview doesn’t substitute for browsing the books by hand. Be sure to do so in the upcoming exhibition at Helmhaus Zürich, June 26 to June 29, 2014. It will travel to Sitterwerk St.Gall, ECAL/Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne as well as to the cozy Engadine village Lavin.