The Best Book Design Contest 2022

The contest visual identity:  Alla Sorochan

In 2022, the Best Book Design Contest was held for the seventh time by the International Book Arsenal Festival in cooperation with Goethe-Institut Ukraine, supported by the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Buchkunst Foundation.

A total of 142 books were submitted to the Contest. Books that were published from June 2021 to December 2022 by Ukrainian publishers were accepted to participate in the Contest.

In view of the difficult circumstances of the Russia’s war in Ukraine as well as the unequal work conditions that some of the Ukrainian publishers and designers/illustrators have experienced due to the full-scale war, this year’s Contest was held in the format of professional review by the jury members, aiming at supporting the sustainability of the Ukrainian book industry creative community. It was decided not to award the Grand Prix of the Contest, but to reward 14 winning books. In addition to the winners of the Contest, 7 books received special awards.

JURY

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NOMINATIONS

VISUAL BOOK

Fountain of Exhaustion. Acqua Alta

• Author: Pavlo Makov
• Published by ist publishing
• Visual design: 3Z Studio (Kharkiv/Kyiv)

Ilovaisk. 2014

• Authors: Oleksandr Hliadielov, Maksym Dondiuk, Maksym Levin, Markiian Lyseiko
• Published by Blank Press
• Visual design: Kateryna Bolshakova

The Cult and Image of Onuphrius the Great

• Author: Rostyslav Zabashta
• Published by RODOVID
• Visual design: Aliona Solomadina

 

TEXT BOOK

Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography

• Author: Roland Barthes
• Museum of Kharkiv School of Photography
• Visual design: Nadiia Kelm, Olga Zhuk

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

• Author: Kurt Vonnegut
• Published by the Babylon Library publishing
• Illustrators: Mariia Havrysh and Volodymyr Havrysh
• Design and layout: Volodymyr Havrysh
• Publication concept and afterword: Mariia Havrysh and Volodymyr Havrysh
• Art director: Roman Malynovskyi

Conversations on Architecture

• Authors: Bohdan Volynskyi, Oleh Drozdov
• Published by ist publishing
• Visual design: Uliana Bychenkova

 

KIDS BOOK

The Yellow Butterfly

• Author: Oleksandr Shatokhin
• Published by the Old Lion Publishing House
• Visual design: Oleksandr Shatokhin

A Tale of the Black Square

• Author: Mariia Bilinska
• Published by Parasolia Publishing
• Visual design: Mariia Bilinska

It’s a Quiet Night, My Astronaut

• Author: Oksana Lushchevska
• Published by #knigolove
• Illustrator: Kateryna Stepanishcheva
• Layout: Kateryna Voievska

 

UTILITY BOOK

Illustration in Ukraine

• Published by CP Publishing
• Publication concept: Lucia Bondar and Pictoric Сlub
• Cover design and layout: Roman Kuryliak
• Illustrations: Pictoric Сlub

The Barrier-Free Handbook

• Published by ist publishing
• Visual design: Volodymyr Havrysh
• Illustrations: Olha Dehtiariova

 

EXPERIMENT

аlЬmanaХ, self-published

• Visual design: Uliana Sukach-Kochetkova (layout, poems); Nadiia Oleksiivna Rohozhyna (illustrations, design, font design, character design, selection of poets). Together: publication concept, book architectonics, design

NA4JOPM8

• Author: Igor Chekachkov
• Published by ist publishing
• Visual design: Ania Nałęcka-Milach, Igor Chekachkov

PlusMinusInfinity, a local magazine about the global

• Visual design: Kateryna Drozd
• Cover design: BananaShampoo, Kateryna Drozd

 

In addition to acknowldeging the winners, the jury decided to give several special awards.

The jury’s special award for congruence of form, content, and printing solution:

• La Boussole. Childhood, published by punkt publishing. Publication concept: Tetiana Kostina, layout and design: Daria Stetsenko.
• Nino Haratischwili, The Eighth Life (For Brilka), published by Komora Publishing House. Visual design: Mariia Kinovych, Andrii Repenko.
• POTOP magazine. Visual design: Lera Guievska.
• Bon appetit!, published by Kalamar publishing house. Idea: Olia Popovych, cover design, illustrations, layout and font design: Ira Rutylo, text: Kateryna Perkonos.

The jury’s special award for a design that reveals the value of young art:

• MYPH, published by RODOVID / MYPH. Visual design: Kateryna Lesiv.

• MUHi 2009-2021, published by Osnovy Publishing. Author of the idea and curator of the project: Maryna Shcherbenko, compilers of the book: Yevheniia Butsykina and Milena Khomchenko, work with the archive of the MUHi Сompetition: Milena Khomchenko, designer: Nika Kudinova, colour correction: Yana Staryk, production support: Sviatoslav Mykhailov, printing support: Nadiia Chervinska.

The jury’s special award for elevating the heritage of Ukrainian children’s illustration:

• Abu Karakambada. Lullaby for Michelle, Hryhorii Falkovych, published by Crocus Publishing. Visual design: Sofiia Tomilenko (illustrations), Tetiana Kaliuzhna (design, layout).

The winning books, and the books with the special award for a design that reveals the value of young art as well as the special award for elevating the heritage of Ukrainian children’s illustration, will represent Ukraine in the Best Book Design from All over the World competition organized by the German Buchkunst Foundation; they will also be exhibited at international book fairs in Vilnius, Leipzig, and Frankfurt in 2023.

With the support of the Ukrainian PEN, the books that were not included in the list of winners will be transferred to libraries affected by the war.

PARTNERS

The International Book Arsenal Festival team and Goethe-Institut Ukraine would like to thank the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Buchkunst Foundation for their support and cooperation in organising and holding the Contest. The organizers would also like to thank the Kolo Publishing House and Printing House and the Depositphotos photo bank for gifts to the winners in the categories and the winners of special awards.
The organizers are grateful to the information partners of the Contest — Chytomo, Telegraf.Design, and Projector.