Over the past decade, newspaper designers everywhere have been emphasizing more images, infographics and color on print pages. Now, a trend is developing in which elements of newspapers’ print and online versions blend into one another. Not all newspapers have adopted this style yet, but the following pages give an insiders view into the evolution of newspaper design and how it is beginning to relate more to the Web. The World Editors Forum asked five top newspaper designers (see bios below), to name the Top 10 newspaper designs and Top 5 newspaper website designs of 2006 and 2007.

 

JUDGES

Jördis Guzmán Bulla
After working as a chemist and a salsa teacher, Joerdis decided to study infographics. For seven years she has been working with the German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag in Berlin, first as page designer, then as art director. Because of ambitious storytelling her portfolio received a gold award in the 2007 SND contest.

Lucie Lacava, Design Consultant, Lacava Design Inc.
Since founding her company in 1992, her professional portfolio includes over 70 international projects. She is one of the most notable and prolific print designers on the international scene today. She has received more than 100 prestigious awards, her most notable include a "Best of Show", and ten World’s Best Designed newspapers by The Society for News Design. Lacava is past president of the Society for News Design (2001). Lacava and her team are presently working on several print and web projects, some of which are due to launch this year. Among them are La Libre Belgique (Bruxelles), El Espectador (Bogota), and a yet to be named national paper in the UAE (Abu Dhabi).

Robb Montgomery, CEO, VisualEditors.com
Robb Montgomery is the CEO of Visual Editors and principal in Robb Montgomery Consulting. He has worked as a visual editor for the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune and partners with media groups in the Middle East, Asia, U.K., Europe and North America to improve digital journalism initiatives, Web video, newspaper design and online multimedia.

Peter Ong
Peter Ong is a newspaper consultant in Sydney, Australia. He has consulted for and redesigned newspapers and magazines across the Asia-Pacific region including Saudi Arabia, India, China, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. In early 2008, he was redesigning Punjab Kesari in India. Peter is also the long-serving regional director for the Society for News Design.

Ally Palmer
A founding director of Palmer Watson, Ally has been a consultant for ten years, and has a record of creating internationally acclaimed designs for newspapers across the world. Before becoming a consultant, he was an award-winning group art director with The Scotsman's titles. In recent years he has been involved in launches, redesigns and re-launches across Europe, South America, Africa and Russia. Four of his projects, The Scotsman (Edinburgh), The European (London), The Herald (Glasgow) and Politiken (Copenhagen) have been included amongst the World's Best Designed Newspapers at the Society of News Design.