Yes, we’re judging. But not the book—
only the cover. Here are 20 21st century books (all previously honored by the design-savvy folks at AIGA) worth more than a passing glance.
Story By ceros originals
Design by Jeremiah McnAIR
20
JUDGED BY
PRODUCTS
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click on each book
2000
AUTHOR
AGENCY / STUDIO
AD / Designer
ILLUSTRATOR
PUBLISHER
Edward Carey
Gary Clement
Scott Christie
Pylon Design
Random House
YEAR
Observatory
Mansions
AUTHOR
Houghton Mifflin
Company
AGENCY / STUDIO
Martha Kennedy
AD / cd
ILLUSTRATOR
Laurie Rosenwald
2001
YEAR
PUBLISHER
Houghton Mifflin Company
Joseph Epstein
SNOBBERY
Laurie Rosenwald
DESIGNER
Sagmeister Inc.
Design firm
Lou Reed
Stefan Sagmeister
Lou Reed
Hyperion
creative director
PHOTOGRAPHER
2000
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
LOU REED: Pass Thru Fire
Chip Kidd Design
DESIGN FIRM
PHOTOGRAPHER
Geoff Spear
Chip Kidd
Henry Petroski
Alfred A. Knopf Publishers
DESIGNER
2001
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
Paperboy: Confessions
of a Future Engineer
PictureBox, Inc.
DESIGN FIRM
Lindsay Ballant
Peter Buchanan-Smith
Mark Newgarden
PictureBox, Inc.
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
DESIGNER
2004
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
Cheap Laffs: The Art of the Novelty Item
Peter Mendelsund Design
DESIGN FIRM
Peter Mendelsund
Roberto Calasso
Alfred A. Knopf
DESIGNER
ART DIRECTOR
2004
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
K.
Chin-Yee Lai Design
DESIGN FIRM
PHOTOGRAPHER
Ryan McVay
Chin Yee-Lai
John Gall
Shan Sa
Vintage Books
DESIGNER
ART DIRECTOR
2005
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
The Girl Who Played Go
Simon & Schuster
DESIGN FIRM
PHOTOGRAPHER
Michael Northrup
Rogier Klomp,
Paul Sahre
John Fulbrook III
Chuck Klosterman
Scribner
DESIGNERS
ART DIRECTOR
2005
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
Sex, Drugs,
and Cocoa Puffs
gray318
DESIGN FIRM
Jon Gray
Jonathan Safran Foer
Houghton Mifflin Company
ILLUSTRATOR
2005
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Penguin Group
DESIGN FIRM
Evan Gaffney
Darren Haggar
Rebecca Mead
The Penguin Press
DESIGNER
ART DIRECTOR
2007
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
One Perfect Day
Rodrigo Corral Design
AGENCY / STUDIO
Marian Bantjes
Rodrigo Corral
Pablo Neruda
New Directions Publishing
AD / cd
ILLUSTRATOR
2007
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
LOve Poems
Rodrigo Corral Design
AGENCY / STUDIO
Rodrigo Corral
Lisa Amoroso
Junot Diaz
Riverhead Books
DESIGNER
AD / cd
2007
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
The Brief and Wondrous
Life of Oscar Wao
Vintage Books
AGENCY / STUDIO
Jason Booher, Helen Yentus
John Gall
Jesse Ball
Vintage Books
DESIGNER
AD / cd
2008
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
Way Through Doors
Mucca Design
AGENCY / STUDIO
Matteo Bologna,
Hana Nakamura
Charles Dickens, Jack London, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
BUR/RCS Libri
AD / cd
ILLUSTRATOR
2008
YEAR
PUBLISHER
Oliver Twist
Rodrigo Corral Design
AGENCY / STUDIO
Ben Wiseman
Rodrigo Corral
Rainer Maria Rilke
New Directions
DESIGNER
AD / cd
2009
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
Poems from the Book of Hours
Pantheon Books
AGENCY / STUDIO
Peter Mendelsund
Steven Amsterdam
Sleepers Publishing Inc.
DESIGNER
2010
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
Things We Didn’t See Coming
Salamander Hill Design
AGENCY / STUDIO
David Drummond
Susan Briscoe
Signal Editions
DESIGNER
2010
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
The Crow’s Vow
Janet Hanson
Carol Devine Carson
Rebecca Schiff,
Dianna Miller
Alfred A. Knopf
DESIGNER
AD / cd
2016
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
tHE BED MOVED
PHOTOGRAPHER
Gregory Reid
Alex Merto
Ingsu Liu
Beth Ann Fennelly
W.W. Norton
DESIGNER
ART DIRECTOR
2017
YEAR
AUTHOR
PUBLISHER
Heating and Cooling
Jeffrey Fischer
Carol Devine Carson
DESIGN ASSISTANT
COVERS
BOOKS we
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John Gall
DESIGNER
Jason Booher
AD / cd
2016
YEAR
Joseph Epstein
AUTHOR
Plume
PUBLISHER
Old Records Never Die
The Cover
Rodrigo Corral Design
DESIGN FIRM
Marian Bantjes
Darren Haggar
ART DIRECTOR
New Directions Publishing
PUBLISHER
illustrator
2007
YEAR
Pablo Neruda
AUTHOR
Love poems
Rodrigo Corral Design
DESIGN FIRM
Lisa Amoroso
ART DIRECTOR
Riverhead Books
PUBLISHER
Rodrigo Corral
Designer
2007
YEAR
Junot Diaz
AUTHOR
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Vintage Books
DESIGN FIRM
John Gall
ART DIRECTOR
Vintage Books
PUBLISHER
Jason Booher &
Helen Yentus
Designers
2008
YEAR
Jesse Ball
AUTHOR
The way through doors
Mucca Design
DESIGN FIRM
matteo bologna
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
BUR/RCS Libri
PUBLISHER
Jeffrey Fischer
illustrator
2008
YEAR
Charles Dickens, Jack London, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
AUTHOR
Oliver Twist, Il Cucciolo, Il Richiamo de la Foresta
Rodrigo Corral
Design
DESIGN FIRM
Rodrigo Corral
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
New Directions
PUBLISHER
Ben Wiseman
designer
2009
YEAR
Rainer Maria Rilke
AUTHOR
Poems from the Book
of Hours
pylon design
DESIGN FIRM
scott christie
ad/designer
Random House
PUBLISHER
gary Clement
illustrator
2000
YEAR
Edward Carey
AUTHOR
Observatory
Mansions
Houghton Mifflin Company
DESIGN FIRM
Martha Kennedy
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Houghton Mifflin Company
PUBLISHER
Laurie Rosenwald
Designer & illustrator
2001
YEAR
Joseph Epstein
AUTHOR
Snobbery
pantheon books
DESIGN FIRM
Martha Kennedy
author
sleepers Publishing Inc.
PUBLISHER
Peter Mendelsund
Designer
2010
YEAR
Steven Amsterdam
things we didn't
see coming
salamander hill design
DESIGN FIRM
Martha Kennedy
susan briscoe
author
Signal Editions
PUBLISHER
Designer
david drummond
2010
YEAR
the crow's vow
Carol Devine Carson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Martha Kennedy
Rebecca Schiff
authorS
Alfred A. Knopf
PUBLISHER
Designer
Janet Hanson
2010
YEAR
THE BED MOVED
Jason Booher
ART DIRECTOR
Martha Kennedy
Eric Spitznagel
author
Plume
PUBLISHER
Designer
John Gall
2016
YEAR
old records never die
AUTHOR
Matteo Bologna,
Hana Nakamura
AUTHOR
Hana Nakamura
ART DIRECTOR
20 ALBUM COVERS THAT DESERVE TO BE SEEN
AT A RECORD STORE
20 BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCTS
Of The Last 20 Years
20 BOOKS WE JUDGED
BY THE COVER
20 BUILDINGS THAT MATTER
IN THE LAST 20 YEARS
20 Everyday Hassles That Died
in the 21st Century
in the 21st Century...so far
20 Most Visually Influential People
2ofor20
2ofor20
in the 21st Century...so far
20 Most Visually Influential People
20 ALBUM COVERS THAT DESERVE TO BE SEEN
AT A RECORD STORE
20 BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCTS
Of The Last 20 Years
20 BOOKS WE JUDGED
BY THE COVER
20 BUILDINGS THAT MATTER
IN THE LAST 20 YEARS
20 Everyday Hassles That Died
in the 21st Century
