Joseph Sullivan of The Book Design Review has posted his favorite book covers of 2008.
He offers 27 shining examples of contemporary cover design. You can also, through the end of the year, vote for your favorite. Currently, David Pearson’s design of Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction is in the lead.
One not on list that deserves mention is Charlotte Strick’s design of Roberto Bolano’s 2666. The book, published by Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, was issued simultaneously in hardcover and paperback. Strick designed both, but it is the design of the paperback that really stands out. Strick talks in depth about her design process for the book at the cover design blog FaceOut Books. I was so impressed that I bought a copy of both the hardcover and paperback.
2666 also has the distinction of being one of the best books of the year; a rare combination.
Here are a couple of others that caught my eye:
The Book Collector by Tim Bowling published by Nightwood Editions. Cover designed by Carleton Wilson, photograph by Milo Baumgartnerand
click to enlargeCosmocopia by Paul DiFilippo and Jim Woodring, published in an edition of 500 by Seattle’s Payseur and Schmidt. Designed and produced under the creative direction of Jacob McMurray.
This one contains:
513-piece jigsaw puzzle of Jim Woodring’s “The Artist’s Eye”.
132-page hardcover of Paul DiFilippo’s short novel Cosmocopia.
Bound-in advertisement postcard
Pulp-style Cosmocopia print
Jigsaw puzzle box
Printed sash/box enclosure/limitation page