A National Geographic joint print-digital entry was named Best in Show for the 35th edition of the Best of News Design™ competition. Twenty-two judges voted unanimously to give the award on Monday afternoon Image Credit: Supplied
The 35th edition of The Society for News Design’s (SND) ‘Best of News Design’ competition in New York last week was again a time for celebration and even reflection. Middle East publications notched up outstanding results, with the top winner being Omani publications with 111 awards and the UAE in third spot with 71.
Among the top 10 publications in terms of wins, Gulf News and Times of Oman/Al Shabiba did the region proud. More than 8,600 entries from around the world were analysed at the campus of Syracuse University and 27 design journalists, including myself, were there to select the winners, which selected the most creative news design for print and online versions.
The competition also selected the world’s best-designed newspapers and publications that have a strong voice around the globe. The winners were Dagens Nyheter (Sweden): Die Zeit (Germany); The Grid (Canada); The Guardian (UK) and Welt am Sonntag (Germany).
For the first time, judges voted unanimously for the National Geographic’s joint print-digital entry as the ‘best in show’. The quality of storytelling on print is impeccable and matched by great photo editing and detailed maps, but at the same time they can produce an app for tablet and mobile with the same quality.
“This industry is struggling a lot right now with what we look like online and what we look like in print,” said a joint statement issued by the judges.
“The amount of cohesion across platforms here was very strong; the branding is solid; the experience is immersive. It’s flawless. They use the tools they have to best tell the story, not necessarily all the same time or all for the same story: Video, print, interactive, apps. The experience is cinematic, each one has a tone and atmosphere.”
SND president David Kordalski said that some of the more interesting and innovative work is coming from mid-size or small papers.
“The stuff our team is awarding kicks things up to a much higher notch. And I haven’t seen really anything that didn’t deserve to be on the table and entered.”
The 35th Best of News Design™ general competition has concluded after three very long days of judging at Syracuse University. Image Credit: Supplied
In the 35th annual The Best of News Design™ creative competition, five Society for News Design judges have named the World’s Best-Designed™ Newspapers. They are: Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm, Sweden/ Die Zeit, Hamburg, Germany/ The Grid, Toronto, Canada/ The Guardian, London, England/ Welt am Sonntag, Berlin, Germany Image Credit: Supplied
