digital.snd.orgThe Best of Digital Design – The Society for News Design – SND

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Corporate membership (U.S. & Canada) Corporate membership (International) Store Foundation About SNDF Karaoke Commemorative 40th Anniversary Pins SNDF Bylaws SNDF Scholarship Travel grants Award winners Students The Best of Digital Design The 41st Edition Creative Competition: Best of Digital Design The Society for News Design’s Best of Digital Design is a juried competition sponsored by the Society of News Design to recognize journalistic excellence in storytelling, graphics, social media and product design. The goal of the contest is to identify the best of journalism that pushes the boundaries of design and technology. By submitting, you help define the state of the art for our industry and all storytellers. What’s new this year We have revised categories for the types of work to be judged, based on the interest from last year, and refined descriptions to better guide you on what to enter and where. We also simplified the pricing structure. We’ll have the same entry portal, which greatly improved the process last year. And again, you will receive receipts and better documentation of your entries for your own records, not to mention assurance that the entry has been received. Deadline Entries must be submitted here by Monday, January 27, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. (GMT -5). Judging will begin the following week, therefore there will be NO extension of the deadline. The 41st Edition SND Digital Design competition is open to all media publications. You do not need to be a member of SND to participate in the contest. Enter here beginning Jan. 1. All entries must have been published between Jan. 1, 2019 and Dec. 31, 2019. Pricing Single-URL category submission fees are $25. Multiple-URL category submission fees are $40. Student submission fees are $5 for single-URL entries and $10 for multiple-URL entries. It is always FREE to enter the World’s Best Designed News Experience category. Judging Judging for all categories will take place in early 2020 and the results will be announced by the 2020 SND Workshop from April 5-6 in Washington D.C. A team of judges selected by SND will evaluate each entry on how well it accomplishes its editorial and design objectives. The Digital Design Competition Committee selects judges for these awards. Judges for the competition are journalism, new media and design experts from around the world. There are about 12-17 judges. If judges have any apparent conflicts of interest on particular entries, they will not be assigned to evaluate those entries. Entries When submitting entries, it’s important to remember that technology continues to evolve with this competition, and submitting a URL does not always give judges a complete impression of how your site/product/story felt to the reader. In other words, we want to experience your entry as a reader would have experienced it. If the site had live aspects, show us a video of it in play. If we are comparing redesigns, before/after images are necessary and if judges need specific hardware to view the story, please say so. The judges understand this tricky dilemma and will look at an assortment of materials before making their decisions. The key is always going to be overall user/reader experience. For non-English entries, give a thorough summary of the story/project in English. SND will try to have a translator if needed, but the more information you give judges about the story and how to navigate the experience, the better. Some organizations have submitted an English language version of their work alongside the original. The competition retains the right to move an entry into another category if they think it would fair better in another category or disqualify an entry if it fails to meet the rules. Awards Winning entries will receive bronze , silver or gold medals for outstanding work, pushing the boundaries of design and technology and helping define the state of the art for the industry. See all previous results including World’s Best-Designed, medal winners and portfolios at the Best of Digital Design site . Facilitators Email [email protected] by Jan. 15 if interested in helping as a volunteer facilitator during the judging. The judging takes place in Washington D.C., so you must be willing to travel if you live outside the area. — Categories 1. World’s Best Digital News Experience Each year, the highest goal of this competition is to identify work that has fundamentally shifted or improved how news and information is delivered across digital platforms. This award has been given to websites and apps, but also to overall experiences or organizations. We encourage individuals, teams, and organizations to nominate themselves or any worthy websites, apps, experiences and organizations. When submitting, make sure to explain how the work has influenced digital design over the last year. The best entries should challenge the industry, stretching the notion of creativity visually and technically. Winners should make a statement to the design community. To encourage the widest field and most diversity of entries, it is FREE to submit World’s Best entries. Think broadly about what could be included. 2. Story Page Design (single URL) Breaking news* International National Local Issues Business/Finance, Technology & Transportation Environment, Health & Science Sports Arts, Entertainment, Food, Travel & Lifestyle Gender/Identity & Social Issues Public interest/Editor’s Choice (Other) *These entries are produced for breaking news or special events like natural disasters, accidents, crime, war, terrorism and issues of public order. This category is for work done on a daily or same-day basis about a topic that could NOT be planned. 3. Information Graphics (single URL) Breaking news* International National Local Issues Business/Finance, Technology & Transportation Environment, Health & Science Sports Arts/Entertainment, Food, Travel & Lifestyle Gender/Identity & Social Issues Public interest/Editor’s Choice (other) *The focal point of these entries are graphics or the combination of data and graphics produced for breaking news or special events like natural disasters, accidents, crime, war, terrorism and issues of public order. This category is for work done on daily or same-day basis about a topic that could NOT be planned. 4. Format (single URL) Use of Original/Commissioned Illustration Use of Video in Digital Storytelling/Infographics/Social Media Use of Audio in Digital Storytelling/Infographics/Social Media Use of Photography or Photo Story Use of Animation Augmented/Virtual Reality storytelling Use of Maps Use of Data Social Media Design Newsletter storytelling Best of Show mobile storytelling (new)* *For mobile-first design or best adaptation for the format. New this year: Judges will award a Best in Show for the most innovative example of storytelling designed for experience on mobile devices. Enter in this category for consideration. 5. Line of coverage (multiple URLs) Submit any combination of story page, information graphics, social media and product design pieces. Breaking news/disasters/mass violence Mueller report/impeachment U.S. presidential Climate change Immigration Women’s World Cup Sports Long-form series Social media design* Public interest/Editor’s choice (other) *For stories told on social media. Examples: Twitter thread, Ins...