What is the value of a book cover if fewer and fewer people shop at bookstores? I used to browse St. Mark’s Bookshop looking for covers that caught my eye. It was an exciting way to discover new authors, and design played a huge role. Now, one increasingly encounters books through social media or online recommendations, and the role of the designer might, at first glance, seem diminished.

As I look at the inspired creativity on display among the books published in 2014, however, design feels as relevant as ever. I love the fusion of type and illustration for Jeff ­VanderMeer’s “Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy”; the playfulness of Mariner Books’ Italo Calvino series; the emotional rawness of Dinaw Mengestu’s “All Our Names”; the mysterious polygon for “Your Face in Mine,” by Jess Row; the vandalized cover of John Beckman’s “American Fun”; and the nearly complete short-short story on Lydia Davis’s “Can’t and Won’t,” to mention a few. All these show that book design remains vibrant and essential.