The Best Dutch Book Designs 2024

Exhibition — Nov 8 2025 until Jan 4 2026

Every year, the Stedelijk Museum and the Stichting De Best Verzorgde Boeken present the entries selected by a jury, submitted by publishers of their previous year’s publications. The Netherlands has a rich tradition of exceptional book design, known for innovative design, lithography, printing, and bookbinding. This selection celebrates the best of Dutch graphic design.

The selection is made by two juries: a professional jury of experts in book design, printing and publishing, and a student jury from leading graphic design programmes in the Netherlands. In 2024, 269 books were submitted; the professional jury selected 30 titles and the student jury 32, with thirteen appearing on both lists.

TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS

The jury notes that both enduring trends and new developments are visible in contemporary book design. Swiss bindings and “fishbone” bindings remain popular, while techniques such as RISO printing and foil stamping on covers appear to be declining. Silver ink, exposed spines and translucent paper seem to be lasting preferences rather than trends. Striking is the frequent use of brown fibrous paper, possibly due to its environmentally conscious appearance. At the same time, a countertrend is emerging that embraces plastic sleeves. There is extensive experimentation with extended (dust) jackets that make use of the inside of the jacket for content. A surprisingly common intervention is the use of narrowed pages, although their added value is not always clear. There is, however, considerableattention for books that lie open well and for the book edge, which is often used visually to help navigate through the book.

For the exhibition, designer Paul Kuipers developed a modular furniture concept that adapts to both the diversity of the publications and the exhibition space. The surface offers ample possibilities to display the books in a variety of ways, ensuring that each work—regardless of size, form or method of presentation—finds a fitting place within the installation. The result is a flexible system that supports thecontent without drawing attention to itself.

ABOUT THE SELECTION

Most of the selected books fall within the categories of art, photography and architecture, with no fewer than 27 titles represented.

The full overview can be found on the website of Stichting De Best Verzorgde Boeken

The jury consists of Anniek Meinders (Head of Publications, Van Gogh Museum), Lyanne Tonk (designer), Mirelle van Tulder (artist, designer), Jochem Öfner (management, printer RaddraaierSSP) and Marc Lamain (design historian).