The International Book Arsenal Festival in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Ukraine has held the annual Best Book Design Contest. This year, 225 applications were submitted. The books which had been published between December 2024 and November 2025 and had not been previously submitted to the Contest were eligible.
Jury members of Best Book Design — 2025 Contest:
- Lizaveta German, curator, art historian, co-founder of The Naked Room gallery;
- Zakentiy Horobyov, graphic designer, typographer, illustrator;
- Glib Kaporikov, graphic and book designer, design director at Projector;
- Oleksandra Korchevska-Tsekhosh, graphic, type and digital designer, researcher of Ukrainian design;
- Annette Koehn, illustrator, comic artist, publisher (Germany);
- Zhenya Oliinyk, illustrator;
- Natasha Chychasova, curator of contemporary art.
WINNERS
The Grand Prix of the contest and the victory in the category Utilitarian Book goes to the publication Beau Monde on Empire’s Edge: State and Stage in Soviet Ukraine by Mayhill Fowler. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Volodymyr Havrysh. Publisher—RODOVID.
In the category Word Book the winner is the publication Susan Sontag: The Complete Rolling Stone Interview by Jonathan Cott. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Oleksii Salnykov. Technical editor—Mykola Klymchuk. Printing manager—Ruslan Fokin (Publish Pro). Publisher—Osnovy Publishing Named After Solomiia Pavlychko.
In the nomination Art Book the winner is ABRACADABRA by Pavlo Makov. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—3Z Studio. Author of illustrations and/or photographs—Pavlo Makov. Publisher—ist publishing.
In the nomination Visual Storytelling the winner is the book Do You Read Me? On Communication and Understanding Each Other. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Art studio Agrafka (Romana Romanyshyn, Andriy Lesiv). Publisher—The Old Lion Publishing House.
The jury collectively decided that this year there would be two winners in the nomination Experiment:
- Road Works by Olha Kuzovkina. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Olha Kuzovkina. Authors of illustrations and/or photographs—Olha Kuzovkina, Viktoriia Hermanenko, Yevheniia Katashynska, Oleksii Salnykov, Vlad Boiko, Maryna Zevako, Svitlana Korniienko, Oleksandr Babariko. Publisher—self-published.
- Photos from the Frontline. The Diary of Collective Memories by Oleksandra Klod. Publication concept—Oleksandra Klod, Alona Karavai. Book design and layout—Yaroslava Kovalchuk. Photographs—Olga Nemtseva, Iryna ISky, Ala Lis, Ryan Christopher Collins, Oleksiy Valuisky-Sharygin. Publisher—Ilostmylibrary.
Finalists of the Best Book Design — 2025 Contest:
Nomination Word Book:
- Susan Sontag: The Complete Rolling Stone Interview by Jonathan Cott. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Oleksii Salnykov. Technical editor—Mykola Klymchuk. Printing manager—Ruslan Fokin (Publish Pro). Publisher—Osnovy Publishing Named After Solomiia Pavlychko.
- My War by Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout—Volodymyr Havrysh. Author of illustrations and/or photographs—Pavlo Yurkin. Publisher—The Library of Babel.
- The Stories of Ukrainian Artists—1. Oleksandra Ekster by Anna Lodyhina; 2. Nil Khasevych by Marchela Mozhyna. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Glib Kaporikov. Publisher—Projector Publishing.
Nomination Art Book:
- ABRACADABRA by Pavlo Makov. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—3Z Studio. Author of illustrations and/or photographs—Pavlo Makov. Publisher—ist publishing.
- Tatlin: Kyiv by Peter Doroshenko, Tetiana Filevska, Oksana Semenik. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Volodymyr Havrysh. Publisher—RODOVID.
- Pretty Ghetto by Polina Polikarpova. Design and layout—Valeriia Huievska. Prepress—Olena Zenchenko. Technical editor—Mykola Klymchuk. Printing manager—Ruslan Fokin (Publish Pro). Author of illustrations and/or photographs—Polina Polikarpova. Publisher—Osnovy Publishing Named After Solomiia Pavlychko.
Nomination Utilitarian Book:
- Beau Monde on Empire’s Edge: State and Stage in Soviet Ukraine by Mayhill Fowler. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Volodymyr Havrysh. Publisher—RODOVID.
- So to Speak by Veronika Seleha, Kyrylo Andrieiev, Olena Kozeletska, Bohdan Oslavskyi. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Volodymyr Havrysh. Author of illustrations and/or photographs—Danyl Shtanhieiev. Publisher—ist publishing.
- More Than a Team by Artur Lupashko. Concept—Artur Lupashko, punkt publishing. Design and layout—Daria Stetsenko. Publisher—punkt publishing.
Nomination Visual Storytelling:
- Do You Read Me? On Communication and Understanding Each Other. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Art studio Agrafka (Romana Romanyshyn, Andriy Lesiv). Publisher—The Old Lion Publishing House.
- A Brief History of a Long War by Mariam Naiem, Yulia Vus and Ivan Kypibida. Idea of the comic strip and concept of the series—Lilia Omelianenko and Eliash Strongowski. Cover design, publication architectonics— Eliash Strongowski. Layout—Bohdan Mokriiev, Kateryna Bazarova. Illustrations—Yulia Vus, Ivan Kypibida. Publisher—Vydavnytsvo Publishing House.
- Why Chicago? by Maria Baglai. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Zakentiy Horobyov. Publisher—Magenta Art Books.
Nomination Experiment:
- Road Works by Olha Kuzovkina. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Olha Kuzovkina. Authors of illustrations and/or photographs—Olha Kuzovkina, Viktoriia Hermanenko, Yevheniia Katashynska, Oleksii Salnykov, Vlad Boiko, Maryna Zevako, Svitlana Korniienko, Oleksandr Babariko. Publisher—self-published.
- Photos from the Frontline. The Diary of Collective Memories by Oleksandra Klod. Publication concept—Oleksandra Klod, Alona Karavai. Book design and layout—Yaroslava Kovalchuk. Photographs—Olga Nemtseva, Iryna ISky, Ala Lis, Ryan Christopher Collins, Oleksiy Valuisky-Sharygin. Publisher—Ilostmylibrary.
- The Discipline of Practice by Serhii Rafalskyi. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)—Olha Kuzovkina. Author of illustrations and/or photographs—Serhii Rafalskyi. Publisher—self-published.
- The Mayor’s Funeral by Igor Chekachkov. Book artistic design (publication concept, cover design, book architectonics, layout)— Ania Nałęcka-Milach (Tapir Book Design). Author of photographs—Igor Chekachkov. Publisher—Museum of Kharkiv School of Photography.
This year, the Contest jury awarded four publications with Special Honors. For more details, follow the link.
Our tenth contest confirmed a fairly consistent trend: every year, the level of the books submitted by designers and publishers for participation increases. For the first time, we are publishing a long list of the contest finalists and thus making visible the work of their creators, wonderful Ukrainian book designers—those who shape the visual language of contemporary books and contribute to the stability and sustainable development of the entire industry. It is a special joy to see the works of the designers whose books win over and over again, with different jury members, and then are highly honored in the world. This speaks of the strength and maturity of our community and the fact that we are moving in the right direction
— Yuliia Kozlovets, the Director of the International Book Arsenal Festival.
A long time ago, in Germany, at the presentation of the collection The Most Beautiful Books of the World, I was most taken aback by the absence of Ukrainian books there. Today, for ten years in a row, the best Ukrainian book design has been visible not only to readers in Ukraine, but also to thousands of visitors in Germany. Every year, the contest becomes a cross-section of trends in the publishing industry: we see how genre categories are changing, how approaches and visual strategies are evolving, how audiences are transforming. At the same time, the contest criteria remain largely unchanged, and for me this indicates the institutional maturity of the contest: the ability to respond to new challenges and trends while maintaining the inviolacy of professional standards
— Maria Shubchyk, the Head of Communication at the Goethe-Institut Ukraine.
Here you can find the Long list of the Contest finalists.
What will the winners of the Contest receive?
The winner of the Grand Prix will receive the main prize of the Contest—the iconic statuette of the Contest.
All finalists, winners and holders of special honors of the Contest will receive honorary diplomas and will represent Ukrainian book design in the international competition The Most Beautiful Books of the World, organized by the German Foundation Buchkunst. The collection of the winning books will be exhibited at the international book fairs in Leipzig and Frankfurt in 2026.
All publications submitted to the Contest that did not receive awards and special honors will be donated to Lesia Ukrainka Central City Library (Kherson) and Kherson Regional Library for Children.
Author of the Contest identity—designer Anna Harnaha.
All photos in this material—by Daria Lanova.
The Best Book Design Contest is held by the International Book Arsenal Festival in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Ukraine.
The project partner is the Buchkunst Foundation.
The media partners of the Best Book Design — 2025 Contest are the online platform for creative industries CASES and the Telegram Channel Design-Borshch.