The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 at the Helmhaus Zurich

Bern, 10.06.2014 - Once again, the Helmhaus Zurich opens its doors to the “Most Beautiful Swiss Books” competition, which celebrates its 70th birthday this year. Over a four-day period, the Helmhaus will play host to designers, publishers and producers. The Jan Tschichold Award, which recognises outstanding achievements in book design, goes to the Zurich-based publisher and comedian Patrick Frey. The exhibition in the Helmhaus marks the first stage of a small exhibition tour which will also take in Lausanne, Lavin and St. Gallen.

The Federal Office of Culture FOC has organised the “Most Beautiful Swiss Books” competition every year since 1999. The award recognises outstanding achievements in book design and production and focuses attention on especially remarkable and contemporary books.

At the end of January 2014 the five-member jury, which was chaired for the third time by Manuel Krebs, considered a total of 421 entries and chose 22 titles as the Most Beautiful Swiss Books of 2013 (https://www.news.admin.ch/message/index.html?lang=en&msg-id=52199). The jury takes into account each book’s overall concept, graphic design and typography, and pays particular attention to innovation and originality. Further criteria include the quality of the printing and the cover, the binding and the materials used.

Jan Tschichold Award 2014 goes to the publisher Patrick Frey
Inaugurated by the FOC in 1998, the Jan Tschichold Award recognises outstanding achievements in book design by an individual, group or institution. It is bestowed independently of the competition. This year’s award, which is endowed with CHF 15,000, goes to the publisher, author, actor and comedian Patrick Frey (b. 1951) from Zurich. He started his small publishing house Edition Patrick Frey in 1986, focusing on photography, art, popular culture and the everyday. In choosing Patrick Frey, the jury recognised his unique contribution to the world of publishing as well as his ability to seek out artistic expressions beyond the mainstream. With regard to design, the publishing house does not subscribe to a signature style but collaborates with established as well as young independent graphic designers, with remarkable and unexpected results.

“Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013” exhibition and programme From 26 to 29 June 2014, the “Most Beautiful Swiss Books” of 2013 will be exhibited at the Helmhaus Zurich. The catalogue showcasing the competition, designed by MAXIMAGE, David Keshavjee and Julien Tavelli, Zurich / Lausanne, will be published at the same time.

A laudation for the winner of the Jan Tschichold Award will be delivered at the vernissage by the galerist and publisher Walter Keller.

A series of lectures on Swiss book design entitled The Classroom will be held at the Helmhaus on Saturday 28 June. It will include a presentation of Meret Oppenheim. Worte nicht in giftige Buchstaben einwickeln by book designers Valeria Bonin and Diego Bontognali. The book was awarded the Golden Letter – the highest accolade – in the international Best Book Design from all over the World competition in February this year.

In autumn 2014 the books will be exhibited at the ECAL Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne. For the sixth successive year, the exhibition travels to Lavin in the Engadin, after which the books will be shown at the Sitterwerk in St. Gallen. As in previous years, all the books entered in the competition will be displayed alongside the award-winning titles.

The books are also shown abroad each year in exhibitions hosted by various institutions and local organisers. In 2014 they will be on show in Leipzig and at venues including Taipeh (Tien Tien Circle), Oslo (Grafill), Paris (Centre culturel suisse), Venice (bruno bookshop), Copenhagen (Officin) and Vienna (Typographische Gesellschaft Austria).

Further information and documentation
Opening: Thursday 26 June from 6 p.m.
7.15 p.m.: Welcome address by Isabelle Chassot, Director of the Federal Office of Culture
Encomium for Jan Tschichold Award winner Patrick Frey: Walter Keller

Enclosures:
-Invitation card to “The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 at the Helmhaus Zurich”
-List of award-winning books for 2013 and jury members
-Biography of Jan Tschichold Award winner Patrick Frey
-Exhibition dates 2014 
-Visual material available from http://www.bak.admin.ch/aktuelles/01832/02328/05148/index.html?lang=de

“The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013” catalogue
Publisher: Federal Office of Culture
Publication date: 26 June 2014
Concept and design: Maximage, David Keshavjee & Julien Tavelli, Lausanne / Zurich
Jury reports: Tan Wälchli, Berlin / Zurich
Texts: German, French, Italian, English
ISBN: 978-3-9524209-1-1
Distribution: Buchzentrum Olten


Address for enquiries

Anisha Imhasly, Cultural Creativity Section, Federal Office of Culture, Tel: 031 322 26 99, fax: 031 322 78 34, anisha.imhasly@bak.admin.ch, www.swissdesignawards.ch/beautifulbooks



Publisher

Federal Office of Cultural Affairs
http://www.bak.admin.ch

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