The books awarded by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (OFC) take part in numerous book fairs as well as a travelling exhibition in Switzerland and abroad, including a stop at ECAL from 23 September to 3 October 2025.
Each year, the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC) awards the “Most Beautiful Swiss Books” competition, highlighting the most outstanding graphic achievements in editorial design in order to promote the quality of Swiss book production.
In 2025, 20 books produced during 2024 were selected from among 362 submissions, upon the recommendation of an international jury chaired by Seraina Rothenberger (Zurich) and composed of Mathias Clottu (London/Lausanne), Julie Peeters (Ghent), Tasheka Arceneaux-Sutton (Austin) and Marco Walser (Zurich). The evaluation criteria focused on graphic and typographic design, print and binding quality, as well as the choice of materials.
Starting in June, a travelling exhibition will tour Switzerland and abroad. All books submitted to the competition will be presented in 2025 in Zurich, followed by Lausanne, Mendrisio, Sion and St. Gallen. Alongside this Swiss tour, the award-winning books will also be exhibited in around twenty international cities across four continents: in Europe (Barcelona, Brussels, Copenhagen, London, Milan, Oslo, Stockholm, Vienna), in the Americas (Austin, New York, Montreal, Santiago de Chile), in Asia (Aranya Qinhuangdao, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tokyo) and in Africa (Cairo, Windhoek).
In addition to the competition, the Jan Tschichold Award, which recognizes a person, group or institution whose achievements are remarkable in the Swiss editorial field, has been awarded this year to graphic designer Vela Arbutina.
Books produced during 2025 may be submitted to the “Most Beautiful Swiss Books” competition between 24 October and 11 December 2025.
This year’s team is composed of Nicole Udry (Bern/Lausanne) as project manager for the Federal Office of Culture (Bern), Chaumont-Zaerpour (Paris/Lausanne) for art direction and photography, Maxime Woeffray (London/Lausanne) for graphic design, and Gilles Jacot (Zurich) for scenography. The catalogue is distributed in Switzerland by Hochparterre (Zurich).
Tuesday 23 September 2025
6 pm
23.09–03.10.2025
Monday – Friday
11 am – 6 pm
Free entry
Hall Kudelski, ECAL/Ecole cantonale d'art de Lausanne
Avenue du Temple 5
1020 Renens