In this second session we will focus on contemporary books, analysing some examples that have won awards in recent years.

What is currently considered a well-designed book? 

Through the verdict of the jury of the LAUS awards and the “Best Book Design From All Over The World” we will be able to take a look at recent editorial design and detect what the trends are in this field. We will be able to assess the adequacy between form and content and explore the role of the designer in the process of creating a book.

The book has been the medium and the message of the diverse movements in the arts during the last century. The book, with its emphatic material presence, takes on a special value now that we are witnessing its dematerialization, reduced to digital data in electronic format.

Over the Bookworm sessions we will explore several iconic books that capture the spirit of the era in which they were designed. We will place the books in their context and try to define what makes them relevant in the history of 20th century book design. The Bookworm sessions are guided by Andreu Jansà, librarian and curator of the Enric Bricall Reserve Fund.