These Are the Best University Press Book Designs of 2018
The Association of University Presses has announced its selections for the 2019 AUPresses Book, Jacket, and Journal Show: 65 “outstanding examples of university press publications” chosen from a pool of over 600, all published in 2018. The selected books will be displayed at this year’s Association of University Presses Annual Meeting (June 11-13 in Detroit) and be featured in an accompanying printed catalog. They’ll also go on the road in a traveling exhibition starting this fall.
The judges for this year were book designers and industry professionals Na Kim, Nicole Caputo, Sara T. Sauers, and Matt Avery, whose commentary will accompany each design in the show’s print catalog. “Academic [book] covers need to go beyond being a decorative accessory, to serve as a window onto the possible explorations within,” Na Kim said in a press release. “Rich with information, they dare us to visualize the relationship between music and mathematics, for example, and to ponder the philosophical and cultural impacts of Beyoncé in the modern age. They succeed at the laborious task of tackling difficult topics with nuance and demand our attention through bold colors and typography. The designers featured in this [show and] catalog took risks, and the results were sublime.”
A few of our favorites from the show are below; you can see the whole list of selections here.
Design by Jill Shimabukuro (University of Chicago Press)
Design by Julia Kushnirsky (Columbia University Press)
Design by David Drummond, Art Direction by Elena Goranescu (McGill-Queen’s University Press)
Design by David Drummond, Art Direction by Elena Goranescu (McGill-Queen’s University Press)
Design by David Drummond, Art Direction by Elena Goranescu (McGill-Queen’s University Press)
Design by David Drummond, Art Direction by Elena Goranescu (McGill-Queen’s University Press)
Design by Jason Harvey, Art Direction by Jennifer Norton (Penn State University Press)
Design by Melissa Dias Mandoly (University of Pittsburgh Press)
Design by Faceout Studio, Derek Thornton; Art Direction by Jess Massabrook (Princeton University Press)
Design by Faceout Studio, Spencer Fuller; Art Direction by Maria Lindenfeldar (Princeton University Press)
Design by Chris Ferrante, Art Direction by Maria Lindenfeldar (Princeton University Press)
Design by Jason Alejandro, Art Direction by Chris Ferrante (Princeton University Press)
Design by Lindsay Starr, Art Direction by Cecilia Sorochin (University of Virginia Press)
Design by Amanda Weiss, Art Direction by Katrina Noble (University of Washington Press)
Design by Jeremy Parker, Art Direction by Jennifer Conn (University of Wisconsin Press)
