The catalogue The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2013 was produced for the annual roundup of the crème de la crème of books published in Switzerland. David Keshavjee and Julien Tavelli of MAXIMAGE took the idea of the test print to its extreme, by subjecting samples from the chosen books to continuously changing parameters. The result is highly varied — for example, the designers use CMYK and Sixplex printing, matte varnish or no varnish, etc. These different treatments and methods are intermingled with various screening criteria. The book serves as an example of an extreme implementation of a concept in which you may lose a lot but get something completely new in return. The designers force the reader to pay close attention to the art of reproduction. The book makes urges us to understand its enormous range and potential and argues for a nuanced approach to the book as a material object and cultural artefact.
L
