No screen, no matter how ingenious the device, can ever match the timeless and tactile qualities of a book filled with intricate drawings and detail. That said, if books want to live on as objects, they’ll have to make an effort.

And book design in Flanders has, really starting to boom this past decade with a focus not only on graphic design but also on typography and format. Though it has a new name, the prize is inspired by the two men (Christoffel Plantin and Jan Moretus) who were responsible for putting Flemish printing on the map by creating some of the most exquisite books in the world during the 16th century.

Best Designed Books wants to show that every kind of book is able to combine form and content into an object that is a joy to see, to own and, of course, to read. Awards are handed out in eight categories: literature, schoolbooks, art and museum catalogues, photography, business and science, special interest, children and young people and a debut prize to reward up-and-coming talent.

Some categories have more than one winner, and this year 18 prizes were handed out, all of which are now part of a small exhibition in Ghent’s Design Museum. Before leafing through the winning books in the old part of the museum (which is a stunning example of 18th-century Flemish architecture), you can watch a short film in which the winners explain the concept behind their designs.

Highlights include In stukken (In Pieces), a collection of Eric de Volder’s plays. Only 500 copies were printed, all signed by de Volder, who died shortly after the book was published. Stan van Steendam rightfully deserved this award for the design of this collector’s item in which each play is presented in a completely unique layout and font, to lend atmosphere to the specific content.

The judges were also unanimous when it came to Gal, Een halve eeuw op het scherp van de snee (Gal: Half a Century on the Cutting Edge) designed by Filip Coopman, a vibrant retrospective of Flemish political cartoonist and commentator Gerard Alsteens (better known as Gal).

Severien van Dam finally, was awarded the Debut Prize for her graduation project Van de Vos Reynaerde en andere teksten (Reynaerde the Fox and Other Texts), a collection of five mediaeval Flemish stories turned into contemporary paperbacks and presented in a playful box-set.

The contest also has the everpopular Public’s Choice Award for best book cover. This year’s winner was Brooddoos, een verhaal in veertien sneetjes (Lunchbox: A Story in Fourteen Slices). Designer Katleen Miller made Dimitri Leue’s story about bullying this season’s must have children’s book.

The luxury edition is in the form of a lunchbox that contains not just the winning book, but two more. Part of Miller’s prize is the chance to design a stamp for bpost, which will appear in 2013.

Until 13 June
Design Museum Ghent
Jan Breydelstraat 5
www.design.museum.gent.be