A Tainan-born designer has won the gold medal in an annual German international book design competition, while another Taiwan artist was also shortlisted.

Tainan-born designer Chen Kuan-ting (???) won the gold medal in the 2022 Best Book Design From All Over the World competition for his design of the book “Met Stoelen,” according to a list of winners released March 10 by the organizer, German foundation Stiftung Buchkunst.

A jury statement on the book praised Chen for the use of chairs in the book, saying “Most of the chair photographs used are tilted and run across the middle of the double-page spread, thus being bisected and somewhat swallowed up, but also awakening a completely new way of seeing. The printed chairs become more object-like again, in a deconstructed way. It seems a bit like a metaphor, the chairs are broken.”

Chen’s book was published by the ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem, the Netherlands.

According to a press release from the Taipei Book Fair Foundation on Friday, Chen currently resides in Arnhem and works on the research of books, typefaces and cultures.

Stiftung Buchkunst also shortlisted Taiwan artist Ni Ho-tzu’s (???) design for the book “Steamy Buns” in the same international category.

Ni, better known under the pen name Son Ni, is a longtime book illustrator and publisher, and the founder of nosbooks publication, which published Steamy Buns.

Stiftung Buchkunst has been holding the annual competition for over 60 years to promote excellent book design.

According to Stiftung Buchkunst, the competition aims to provide an opportunity to explore the design differences between international and German book designs.

The most prestigious accolade is the Golden Letter, followed by the Gold Medal which Chen won.

In addition, two Silver Medals, five Bronze Medals, and five Honorary Appreciations are also chosen by a jury.

Traditionally, winners of the international category have their works showcased at the annual Leipzig Book Fair, but this year’s awardees will have their books displayed at the Independent Publishing Fair Leipzig on March 19 instead, due to the COVID-19 cancellation of the former.

Aside from the international category, Stiftung Buchkunst also holds the Best German Book Design competition to commend exemplary German design, conception, and workmanship on German books, as well as the Sponsorship Prize for Young Book Design competition to stimulate innovations in printing among younger designers.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel