The Guardian and Rzeczpospolita have been named the World's Best-Designed Newspapers at the 27th annual The Best of Newspaper Design Creative Competition of the Society for News Design (SND).
Meeting at Syracuse University in New York, five judges reviewed 389 newspapers from 44 countries to decide the 2005 winners. "Many newspapers achieved a high standard of overall design, photography and illustration. Editorial voice, use of resources and visual storytelling were other qualities that are looked for in an outstanding publication," judges said. The winners were as close to "perfect" as they could individually and collectively be. "The two papers received our unanimous vote for maintaining quality and freshness on every page."
The five judges noted, "The financial realities of the marketplace are affecting paper size, resources and production values. The Web is competing for readers' attention and advertising income. Styles, and the insistence on freshness, youth and currency, are changing at an increasingly rapid pace. Five-minutes-from-now is so-10-minutes-ago, and to hear some analysts speak, it seems that newspapers themselves are almost as outdated as the steamship (or auto) industry."
Despite these challenges, judges said, "Newspapers continue to change, evolve and adapt to the marketplace – macro to micro, global to local." The judges for this portion of the judging, which took place February 10—14, were:
- Nanette Bisher, creative director of the San Francisco Chronicle in California
- Joe Dizney, design director of The Wall Street Journal in New York, N.Y.
- Lucie Lacava, design consultant with Lacava Design Inc. in Montreal, Canada
- Ingrid Lohne, assistant editor of DagensMedier in Oslo, Norway
- Chris Watson, executive editor of the National Post in Toronto, Canada
About the Guardian's design, SND said, "It sparkles all the way through, while the Berliner size makes it very comfortable to read. The photography is strong, the headlines are well-written, smart and tie in perfectly with the images. The typography is bold, crisp, elegant and consistent even though a full range of weight is used – from extra light to extra bold. The graphics and illustrations are clever and sophisticated. Inside pages are strongly designed, even around ad stacks. There is masterly control of contrast throughout. The colour palette is vibrant, fun and au courant. The navigation is clear and simple with content – not decoration – driving the look of this newspaper. Brilliant. Simply brilliant."
About Rzeczpospolita, SND said, "Each section's design reflects the tone of its subject. Different paper stocks, from the green business section with a more graphically conservative but engaging and energetic look, to the yellow legal section, assert its own identity through clean and playful typography. While respectful of tradition, the paper displays a definite modernity in its mix of serif and sans serif, black and red, even within single headlines. There is an admirable continuity with Eastern European illustrative tradition strongly present on numerous full-page opinion and essay pages. Rzeczpospolita is truly beautiful and timeless."
For 18 other competition categories, 27 judges finished deliberations February 21. The competition, co-sponsored by SND and Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, recognises excellence in newspaper design, graphics and photography. The judging takes place in two stages over two weeks in February at the Newhouse School in Syracuse, NY. Entries received in January numbered 14,610 in 19 categories and almost 200 subcategories.
