Malofiej 20 winners: The jury talks about the gold medal work

In Spain for the 20th gathering of the Malofiej awards and summit, there was a record number of submissions: 1,513 from nearly 30 countries. From that the jury selected 111 winners from around a dozen countries with 8 taking the top award: A gold medal. It should be noted that 63 awards went to print work with 48 for digital.

Here is what the judges had to say about the gold medal work, what can be viewed as the best graphics in the world for 2011.

The New York Times: Guantanamo detainees

What the judges said: This is a really clear and functional piece made from loads of information. Every single prisoner in Guantanamo is accounted for with each line representing that person’s detention. The graphic is designed with incredible restraint and there isn’t a single unnecessary mark. This graphic, along with its online counterpart was also selected as Best in Show.

The New York Times: The evolving face of the course

What the judges said: A confident, ambitious piece of work that takes the route of the New York City Marathon and charts change in home prices. The package is a fusion of narrative, pictures, imagery and a central graphic that is dynamic and bold. The interactive graphic is shown.

The New York Times: Features graphics portfolio

What the judges said: There is an ebb and flow to the way the The New York Times executes their graphics. They do everything and do it well. Each of the pieces listed below has an immense amount of detail and amount of work, but each one is different from one another. They hit all of the notes and hit them high.

The New York Times: Joe Ward portfolio

What the judges said: Many sports graphics show no sense of restraint, they were overdone and overstated. Not here. This collection was amazing and understated and stood out from the crowd in a refreshing way. But while each of these examples was restrained, they were also full of information and life. The online version of the Nadal graphic is shown

National Geographic Magazine: Martin Gamache portfolio

What the judges said: This portfolio beautifully demonstrates the different things maps can do. The different perspectives and executions, the attention to detail, quality and ease to read and find information. There is no fluff in a National Geographic map. The use of space, language and craftmanship make this a gold. Shown is the online version of the El Capitan map

The New York Times: Gauntanamo docket

What the judges said: The print version of the Guantanamo detainees graphic is a large, sparse piece that lends itself to an exploratory experience. For the online version, being awarded here, we have a version that has a strong narrative showing how detainees from various countries are gradually released. Each square represents one person and the colors show different countries of origin and outcomes. There is also the opportunity to dig in to more detail on each person and see related documents. This is a succinct piece that expresses its intent very well. This graphic, along with its print counterpart was also selected as Best in Show.

Internet Group do Brasil (iG): The Brazilian smoke squadron

What the judges said:The form and function of this interactive come together with a wonderful exuberant quality. The well-crafted renderings, attention to detail is playful and highly functional. One gets the feeling of playing with toy planes. This graphic shows that if you push a little bit further you can create an experience that hooks users in a joyful experience.

The New York Times: Online portfolio

What the judges said: One piece is a video, one is a map, another an immersive transcript of air traffic controllers during 9/11 and another lets readers share where they were a decade ago during the 9/11 attacks. The varied approaches are all incredibly well done and focused. The Hurricane Irene map was also honored as the competition’s top online map.