Foto: ©BAK / Chaumont-Zaerpour

The most beautiful Swiss books competition, organised by the Federal Office of Culture, aims to promote the best graphic design in the book industry each year and to encourage and highlight the quality of publishing. The works selected for the competition are exhibited during the following year in a series of travelling exhibitions in Switzerland and abroad.

After opening last June at the Helmhaus in Zurich, the exhibition is now moving to the Campus of the Department of Environment Constructions and Design SUPSI in Mendrisio, given its multidisciplinary vocation, which integrates, in particular, teaching and research into vocabularies and techniques for visual and museographic representation through its various units (Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication, Bachelor of Arts in Interior Architecture, Master of Arts in Interaction Design, Institute of Design). The exhibition will then be on display in St. Gallen and Lausanne, before moving abroad to London, Paris, Milan, Brussels, Vienna, Frankfurt, Taiwan, Beijing and Dubai.

Among the 362 volumes competing in the 2024 edition of the competition, the 20 award-winning books demonstrate exceptional quality, as highlighted by the international jury, chaired by Sereina Rothenberger (graphic designer) and composed of Mathias Clottu (graphic designer), Julie Peeters (graphic designer and publisher), Tasheka Sutton (graphic designer and author) and Marco Walser (graphic designer).

Discover the most beautiful Swiss books awarded in 2025

The exhibition and meetings in Mendrisio

The exhibition is open to the public from Wednesday 8 October to Wednesday 5 November 2025 (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9:00–18:00; Wednesday 9:00–12:30) at the Materioteca on the 1st floor of the Department of Environment Constructions and Design Campus SUPSI (Via Flora Ruchat-Roncati 15, Mendrisio).

During its stay in Ticino, the exhibition will be accompanied by a series of events aimed not only at students but also at the general public. The Design à la Carte – Guided Tours, a look at visual design cycle offers short, informal guided tours during lunchtime to encourage critical reflection on the graphic aesthetics of the award-winning books. The meetings are led by professional lecturers from the Bachelor of Arts SUPSI in Visual Communication.

The events, held in the Materioteca, are promoted by the Design of Institute SUPSI and the Bachelor of Arts SUPSI in Visual Communication.

Appointments:

• Monday, 20 October 2025, 12:20–13:30 with Federico Paviani and Joshua Althaus
• Monday, 27 October 2025, 12:20–13:30 with Sabrina Cerea and Leonardo Angelucci
• Tuesday, 4 November 2025, 12:20–13:30 with Rebecca Bertero and Antonella Autuori

On Thursday, 16 October, from 18:00 to 19:00, there will also be at the Materioteca of the SUPSI Campus in Mendrisio a round table discussion entitled Il libro come spazio espositivo (The book as an exhibition space), moderated by Carole Haensler, Director of the Villa dei Cedri Museum in Bellinzona. The meeting will explore the relationship between the editorial space and the curatorial and exhibition space through presentations by Nicole Udry (project lead for The most beautiful Swiss books), Diego Bontognali (Bonbon graphic design studio), Giulio Zaccarelli (director of the Institute of Design SUPSI) and Matteo Vegetti (SUPSI professor of Theories of Space and Living)

Jan Tschichold Award a Vela Arbutina

In parallel with The most beautiful Swiss books competition, since 1997 the Federal Office of Culture has awarded the Jan Tschichold Award to a personality, institution or group that has distinguished itself through outstanding achievements in book design. This year, the prize, worth CHF 25,000, goes to Vela Arbutina.

An independent graphic designer for over twenty years, Arbutina takes a decidedly contemporary approach that contrasts with established models, distinguishing itself with a minimalism that is as discreet as it is radical. Its witty and daring productions allow the viewer to establish a relationship of complicity with the content.

Vela Arbutina was born in 1978 in Zurich, where she still lives and works. After studying at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste in Zurich and the Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst in Basel, she worked in Amsterdam, London, Berlin and Switzerland. In addition to graphic design, she explores other disciplines such as video art and installations. She has also been artistic director of BLEND and Girls Like Us magazines and has collaborated with numerous institutions and personalities in the art world, including Christina Li, Adam Szymczyk, Cabaret Voltaire, Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, Ludlow 38, nGbK Berlin, Tanya Leighton and the Swiss Institute. Several publications for which Vela Arbutina designed the graphics were included in the list of the most beautiful Swiss books between 2013 and 2024: WIR SPIELEN (WE PLAY), Schätze der Erinnerung 2014–2015. The Weather in Zürich 2013–2014, Pilvi Takala. Close Watch and Daphne Ahlers. Die Würflerin