Best of Print News Design

The SND Best of Print News Design competition has provided the opportunity for newsrooms to share their work and to be recognized for excellence and innovation in news design. The competition also provides a valuable learning experience for judges and volunteers through thoughtful discussion. 2020 was an extremely difficult and unprecedented year. Throughout uncertain times, media organizations around the globe rose to the occasion to deliver news during a global pandemic.  We understand that many journalists do not have access to their newsrooms and/or print newspapers. In order to safely continue the competition and encourage wider participation, the judging will be hosted virtually and we will be accepting all print entries as PDFs this year through a new digital judging platform. 

The new call for entries

• World’s Best-Designed Newspaper: This year, entering Category 1: World’s Best-Designed Newspaper is no longer mandatory and will carry an entry fee of $50 per entry. In addition, only three complete editions will need to be submitted to enter this category.

• Revised categories: To better reflect the industry and the work we do, we’ve streamlined all of the categories. Some categories have been consolidated while others have been removed. Please read the entire call before you enter as many things have changed.  

PDFs

The Best of Print News Design competition will accept entries in a new form this year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, judging and entering will be hosted digitally and entrants will be asked to submit all entries in PDF form. Entries must not be edited and must appear as they were published. If an entry was published in black and white, the PDF must also be entered in black and white. PDFs that have been altered after publication will be disqualified. 

Eligibility

The 42nd Edition of the Best of Print News Design is open to all general circulation newspapers and magazines. You do not need to be a member of SND to enter. All entries must have been published between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020. Specialty publications, advertising, publicity and promotional materials are ineligible. Entries may be moved to another category or disqualified if they fail to follow the rules as outlined.

What’s the deadline?

All entries must be uploaded to the Award Force online portal by Feb. 26, 2021.  

How do I enter?

You must now enter the competition using Award Force, which is an effective and simple platform to host this year’s competition. This platform allows entrants to create a profile, upload entries and pay for entries all in one place. If you’ve entered the competition in the past, you will no longer need your tearsheet, scissors and tape to put together those long entries. Instead, multipage entries should be bundled together into single PDFs. In some categories, such as illustration or graphics, entries will be viewed for the individual element, not the entire page. If only one element is to be judged, identify it when entering in the notes field. Do not mark on the PDFs. The entry portal is now closed for submissions. 

How much does it cost to enter?

Single page entries are $20 per entry while multipage entries are $35 per entry. The World’s Best entry fee is $50. 

Who are the judges?

Judging for all categories will take place virtually this year. A team of judges selected by SND will evaluate each entry on how well it accomplishes its editorial and design objectives.

When will I know if I won?

Judging of the entries to the 42nd Edition Creative Competition will be held in the spring of 2021 and winners will be announced shortly thereafter. 

The categories:

Category 1: World’s Best-Designed Newspaper
Category 2: Section Design
Category 3: Page Design
Category 4: Special Coverage
Category 5: Special Sections
Category 6: Magazines
Category 7: Illustrations
Category 8: Photography
Category 9: Information Graphics
Category 10: Portfolios
Category 11: Combination Print & Digital 

Download the 42nd call for entries here