365: AIGA Year in Design 24

The primary objective was to produce a visually stunning and content-rich book within the budget allowed and on schedule. As AIGA is the leading design organization in the United States, it was necessary for this book to demonstrate responsible design through the honest and direct presentation of editorial and visual content and through thoughtful use of resources. AIGA champions the role of design in solving problems. We wanted to be able to show process in 365—for each winning entry and even for the design of the book. The book had to be a compelling design artifact that expressed the zeitgeist; but at the same time it had to avoid trendiness and maintain—in the pages featuring competition selections—the neutrality of a gallery or museum space, so as not to compete with the work it celebrated. We saw the competition and annual as a work in progress, a reference guide to something that was developing. So we wanted the book to be smaller, to be flexible, and to fit comfortably in the hand, like a guidebook. Most of our effort went into organizing all the contextual material and creating a flow from beginning to end. Because we viewed this as a reference book, we wanted it to be very easy to navigate. There is a table of contents at the front, and then a table of contents for each section. The page number, project number, competition, project title and designer are at the bottom of each page. We used only two fonts and tried not to vary the sizes. With this structure in place, we were able to focus on the details. We tried to present the content without distorting it. The book is also more than the projects it displays—it is an object in its own right.