Best German Book Design 2024

We warmly congratulate Kaj Lehmann, whose book Holy Smoke: Censers Across Cultures (published by Hirmer Verlag, Munich) has been honored with the Stiftung Buchkunst Prize, which comes with a € 10,000 award! Congratulations on this fantastic design and achievement!

Holy Smoke stands out for its innovative design, where packaging becomes a metaphor. The book is wrapped in carbon paper, encircled by a glowing orange band. As readers unwrap the band and remove the fluttering paper, their hands become smudged with black ink, leaving visible traces on the gray fabric cover, making each copy a one-of-a-kind piece. The book explores incense vessels and their roles in various religions and historical eras, emphasizing how ritual smoke serves as a medium for human communication with higher powers.

The award ceremony took place on Friday evening, September 6th, 2024, at the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt. Birte Kreft, managing director of Stiftung Buchkunst, and Dr. Joachim Unseld, publisher of Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt and chairman of the foundation, presented the prize in a formal ceremony at the museum.

Jury member Markus Klose praised the book during his speech, saying, “This book is a delight, something that could have graced Louis XV’s famous desk at Versailles. It’s pure joy to flip through, to admire, and to dive into such an unfamiliar yet fascinating world. It’s a splendid, unique, bold work—Holy Smoke is the result of masterful craftsmanship.”

Birte Kreft, speaking on behalf of the Stiftung Buchkunst, highlighted the courage required in both design and production, stating, “The Stiftung Buchkunst Prize celebrates bold decisions in book design and manufacturing. Holy Smoke achieves this beautifully: the distinctive packaging for a book about religious incense engages readers right from the start, leaving them with ‘smoky hands’ as they discover its contents. It’s an inspiring example of what great ideas can accomplish in book production.”

The book was selected by a five-member jury from the 25 titles shortlisted as “Best German Book Design,” chosen from 600 submissions earlier in June. In addition to Holy Smoke, the Stiftung Buchkunst also honored the winners of the Sponsorship Prize for Young Book Design during the Friday evening ceremony. The € 2,000 prizes were awarded to three innovative titles that rethink the book as a medium: Umsatzübersicht by Anja Dietmann and Jonas Beuchert, A Book about Hair by Elfi Handina Murandu, and Wölfinnen by Johanna Behrens.