AIGA, the professional association for design, recently mounted its annual survey of communication design, "365: AIGA Annual Design Exhibition 30," at the AIGA National Design Center. The nearly 200 pieces on display there through 25 November represent the best in communication design from 2008 as selected by an esteemed jury for the 30th annual "365: AIGA Annual Design Competition."
Visitors to the gallery space in December will be treated to a more specialised show, the result of the recent "AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers of 2008" competition that since 1923 has recognised excellence in book design and production. This exhibition showcases selections made by a distinguished jury for this year's "AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers" competition, which aims to identify the 50 best-designed books and book covers published in 2008.
AIGA is committed to using selections from its annual competitions to demonstrate the process of design, the role of the designer, and the value of design to business, culture and society at large. Each year, the competition selections are published in AIGA's online archives at
designarchives.aiga.org, featured in an annual publication, exhibited at the AIGA National Design Center and preserved in the AIGA Design Archives at the Denver Art Museum in Colorado.
In addition, selections from each year's "50 Books/50 Covers" competition are housed in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University.
All selections of the annual competitions are browsable in the AIGA Design Archives, where additional images, full credits, project statements and jurors' comments are available.
The "365: AIGA Annual Design Competition 30" exhibition will be on display at the AIGA National Design Center through 25 November, 2009. The "50 Books/50 Covers" exhibition will be on display from 10 December 2009 through 19 February 2010.