March is only starting and Society for News Design provides a calendar of events happening this month.

“The best that you can do” is the 2017 SND Year-Long Conversation to provide incentive and help designers worldwide to improve themselves, be more creative and to do their best designs in print and online, by thinking in advance some exciting projects and share them with SND community.

Any opportunity in the design department should be taken as a challenge for us to overcome our limits and to do our best and be more creative. Nowadays it is a great privilege to have a space in print or online where you can show your design and you should not lose this chance.

Download the March 2017 SND wallpaper created by Ellen Weinstein (@eweinsteinilloz), or download the 2017 full SND Calendar with the most important events of the year and of course SND events.

SHOWCASE is SND’s new space for designers to show their works in print and online. Be proud of your work and inspire others to be creative.

Did you or your team produce a special coverage or project involving a good design? Please send it to mailto:snd@snd.organd we will consider promoting it on our website.

SND March events 2017:

04 to 08 March 2017: The Best of Scandinavia News Design judging in Copenhagen

26 to 31 March 2017: Infographic World Summit– Pamplona, Spain

⇒Unite & Rebel, a creative conference focused on innovation, risk-taking and team building in media hosted by the Society for News Design. Join us April 19–21 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Register here: http://www.snd.org/clt2017/ –  All speakers here

March 2017 events:

01 MAR.

-Zero Discrimination Day

-70th anniversary of the International Monetary Fund began operating

02 MAR.

-30th anniversary of Apple released the Macintosh II personal computer – the first Apple computer to feature colour graphics

-25th anniversary of following former Soviet republics joined the United Na­tions: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turk­menistan and Uzbekistan. San Marino also joined on that date

-Morocco Independence Day

03 MAR.

-Bulgaria Liberation Day u World Wildlife Day

03-04 MAR.

-ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi

04 MAR.

-60th anniversary of the Stan­dard & Poor 500 stock market index (commonly known as the S&P 500) was introduced.

06 MAR.

-Ghana 60th Independence Day (Gold Coast declares independence from the UK and change the name to Ghana)

07 MAR.

-100th anniversary of the world’s first jazz record released: Livery Stable Blues by the Original Dixieland Jass Band. (The spelling of jass was changed to jazz later that year.)

08 MAR.

-International Women’s Day

– 300th death anniversary of Abraham Darby, British ironmaster. The first person to smelt iron using coke rather than charcoal – a major step forward in the production of iron for the Industrial Revolution. U.K.

– 100th anniversary of the New York Stock Exchange was founded

09 MAR.

-175th anniversary of the first documented discovery of gold in Cali­fornia, USA – at Rancho San Francisco. This led to a small gold rush, with about 2,000 people coming to mine gold

– 30th anniversary of the album The Joshua Tree by the Irish rock band U2 released

9-22 MAR.

-Baseball World Baseball Classic

10 MAR.

-150th birth anniversary of Lillian Wald, pioneering American nurse and social worker. Regarded as the founder of American community nursing. Founder of the Henry Street Settlement in New York City.

11-21 MAR.

-90th anniversary of the Roxy Theater opened on West 50th Street, New York City

12 MAR.

-25th anniversary of Mauritius becomes a republic. Governor General Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo served as interim President until an election was held in June

14-24 MAR.

-Multi-sports Special Olympics World Winter Games

16 MAR.

-60th anniversary of the Suez Crisis: Israel withdrew the last of its forces from the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

16-18 MAR.

-Dubai International Kite Festival 2017

17 MAR.

-Saint Patrick’s Day Ireland

20 MAR.

-Vernal Equinox

-Tunisia Independence Day

-International Day of Happiness

21 MAR. International Day for the Elimi­nation of Racial Discrimination

-World Poetry Day

-International Day of Nowruz Global u World down Syndrome Day Global u International Day of Forest and the Tree

-Mother’s Day

22 MAR.

-World Water Day Global u World Meteorological Day

-Pakistan National Day General 23-26 MAR. Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2017

24 MAR.

-World Tuberculosis Day Global

-International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims

25 MAR.

-International Day of Remem­brance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

-International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members

-Earth Hour at 8.30pm to 9.30pm

-Horse Racing – Dubai World Cup

26 MAR.

-Bangladesh Independence Day

27 MAR.

-Easter Sunday

-40th remembrance of the Tenerife airport disaster. Two Boeing 747 jumbo jets collided on the runway in heavy fog. 583 people were killed – the deadliest accident in aviation history

Anniversaries during the month of March 2017:

1 Year (2016)

March 02: The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) declare Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.

March 03: Former Kiwi greatest cricketer and captain Martin Crowe died of cancer aged 53.

March 04: Brazil police detain ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in corruption probe.

March 05: Fifa approves testing of video assistance technology for referees.

March 06: Iran’s billionaire tycoon Babak Zanjani sentenced to death for corruption.

March 07: Tennis star Maria Sharapova announces that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open.

March 09: “Fifth Beatle” George Martin dies at 90.

March 11: Arab League labels Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.

March 13: A car bomb ripped through a busy square in central Ankara, killing at least 27 people and wounding 75, the latest in a spate of attacks to hit Turkey.

March 14: Russian President Vladimir Putin orders the withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria.

March 16: Frank Sinatra Jr dies unexpectedly of cardiac arrest in Florida.

March 19: All 62 people aboard a flydubai jet from Dubai to southern Russia were killed when their plane crashed on its second attempt to land at Rostov-on-Don airport.

March 20: Sharjah has been declared the Capital of Arab Press 2016 during the opening of the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF).

March 24: UN court finds Radovan Karadzic guilty of genocide, sentences him to 40 years in prison.

March 24: Football legend Johan Cryuff dies at 68.

March 26: American horse California Chrome, ridden by Victor Espinoza and trained by Art Sherman, wins Dubai World Cup race at Meydan.

March 27: A newly-formed Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition holds first meeting in Riyadh, pledge to reinforce their fight against terrorism, and to dry up terrorists’ resources.

March 28: A major fire erupts a 26-storey high-rise residential tower complex in Al Swan, Ajman, more than 350 people are evacuated.

March 29: A lone hijacker Saif Al Deen Mustafa is arrested in Cyprus after he hijacked EgyptAir flight 181 from Alexandria to Cairo.

March 30: Htin Kyaw sworn in as president of Myanmar.

March 31: A flyover under contruction in Kolkata collapsed killing atleast 25 people with dozens feared trapped under the debris.

2 Years (2015)

March 09: Making aviation and scientific history, Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi morning, beginning its five-month journey around the world.

March 12: At least 25 people died in Russian shopping centre fire in the city of Kazan.

March 12: British author Terry Pratchett dies at 66 after battle with Alzheimer’s.

March 15: Fifteen people, died when two suicide bombers attacked two churches in Youhanabad, Pakistan, while Lent Sunday services were being held.

March 18: Attackers opened fire at a National Bardo Museum in Tunisia’s capital, gunning down 18 tourists.

March 23: Singapore mourned the death of Lee Kuan Yew the first prime minister who transformed the state into wealthy finance and trading powerhouse.

March 29: Australia win the ICC World Cup 2015 trophy after beating New Zealand in final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

March 31: Muhammadu Buhari is elected president of Nigeria, defeating the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan.

5 Years (2012)

March 03: Swiss Roger Federed wins the Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open, beating British Andy Murray in the finals.

March 14: A Swiss tour bus slam into a tunnel wall killing 22 Belgian children returning from thie ski trip in the Swiss Alps.

March 17: The 300-bed Saudi-German Hospital, the largest private hospital in the region, opens in Dubai.

March 19: A suspected serial killer shot dead three children and a teacher at a Jewish school in France.

10 Years (2007)

March 06: Emirates Bank International (EBI) and National Bank of Dubai (NBD) will merge to create one of the Middle East’s largest banks with assets of Dh165 billion.

March 15: The launch of XPRESS newspaper published by Al Nisr Publishing LLC.

March 18: Bob Woolmer, Indian-born British cricketer, commentator and Pakistani cricket team coach dies in Jamaica, just a few hours after the Pakistan team’s unexpected elimination at the hands of Ireland in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

March 31: The first Earth Hour was held in Sydney, Australia.

15 Years (2002)

March 03: In a referendum the citizens of Switzerland voted to join the United Nations, ending nearly 200 years of neutrality.

March 14: Microsoft’s Xbox video game console was released in Europe and Australia.

March 18: Burger King became the first fast-food chain to sell veggie burgers on a nationwide basis in the US.

March 19: Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations on charges of electoral fraud.

March 25: An earthquake in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan killed approximately 1,000 people and left thousands homeless.

20 Years (1997)

March 03: Sky Tower opened in Auckland, New Zealand. At 328 metres (1,076 feet) tall, it is currently the tallest free-standing manmade structure in the southern hemisphere.

March 05: Representatives from North Korea and South Korea met for the first time in 25 years, at peace talks in the US.

March 06: Queen Elizabeth II launched the official Royal website: www.royal.gov.uk

March 06: The first Webby Awards ceremony was held, in San Francisco, California, US. The awards celebrate excellence on the internet.

March 12: Susie Maroney of Australia became the first woman to swim the Florida Straits – 112 miles (180 km) from Cuba to Key West, Florida.

25 Years (1992)

March 02: The following former Soviet republics joined the United Nations: Armenia,

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. San Marino also joined on that date.

March 03: Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence from Yugoslavia following a referendum held on 29th February and 1st March.

March 07: The first women priests were ordained in the Anglican Church of Australia.

March 12: Mauritius became a republic. Governor-General Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo served as interim President until an election was held in June.

March 17: In a referendum the people of South Africa voted to back political reform and end apartheid.

March 17: A Hezbollah car bomb exploded at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 29 people were killed and 242 injured.

March 17: Russia launched its Soyuz TM-14 spacecraft with a crew of 3 to the Mir space station – the first Soyuz mission since the Soviet Union collapsed.

March 19: Buckingham Palace announced the separation of the Duke and Duchess of York – Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

March 22: USAir Flight 405 crashed shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. 27 people were killed.

March 25: Soviet cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returned to Earth after spending 10 months on the Mir space station.

March 31: The UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Libya after it failed to accept responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

March 31: The U.S. Navy’s last battleship, USS Missouri, was decommissioned. It is now a  museum/memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

30 Years (1987)

March 02: Apple released the Macintosh II personal computer – the first Apple computer to feature colour graphics.

March 04: In a nationally televised address, U.S. President Ronald Reagan accepted full responsibility for the Iran–Contra scandal and admitted making mistakes.

March 06: The British ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized off Zeebrugge, Belgium after it set sail with its bow doors open. 193 people were killed.

March 09: The album The Joshua Tree by the Irish rock band U2 was released.

March 12: The musical Les Miserables opened on Broadway.

40 Years (1977)

March 27: Tenerife airport disaster, Canary Islands. Two Boeing 747 jumbo jets collided on the runway in heavy fog. 583 people were killed – the deadliest accident in aviation history.

50 Years (1967)

March 06: Death of John Haden Badley, British educator and writer. Founder of Bedales School.

March 06: Death of Nelson Eddy, American baritone singer and actor. A crossover star of both opera and film musicals.

March 06: The first North Sea gas was pumped ashore at Easington in County Durham, England.

March 31: NATO’s new headquarters building opened near Mons, Belgium.

March 31: American rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix set fire to his electric guitar on stage during a legendary performance at the London Astoria.

60 Years (1957)

March 04: The Standard & Poor 500 stock market index (commonly known as the S&P 500) was introduced.

March 06: The Gold Coast declared its independence from the UK and changed its name to Ghana.

March 08: Ghana joined the United Nations.

March 16: Suez Crisis: Israel withdrew the last of its forces from the Sinai Peninsula.

March 17: Death of Ramon Magsaysay, President of the Philippines.

70 Years (1947)

March 01: The International Monetary Fund began operating.

March 14: The Philippines–US Military Bases Agreement was signed, allowing the US to lease military bases in the Philippines for 99 years.

75 Years (1942)

March 14: The first successful use of penicillin to treat a patient.

March 16: The first test of a German V-2 rocket – the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile.

March 19: The Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA) is established in the US.

March 27: Capitol Records was established in Los Angeles, California, US.

80 Years (1937)

March 11: Death of Joseph S. Cullinan, American oil industrialist. Founder of Texaco.

March 15: The first blood bank in the USA was established by Bernard Fantus at Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. (The world’s first blood bank was established in the Soviet Union in 1930.)

90 Years (1927)

March 11: The world’s first armoured car (security van) robbery. The Flathead Gang (also known as the Flatheads) stole over $104,000 (£66,000) from an armoured car near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA after placing a landmine in the road.

March 11: The Roxy Theater opened on West 50th Street, New York City, US.

100 years (1917)

March 01: Birth of Robert Lowell, Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet.

March 04: Jeannette Rankin from Montana took office as the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress.

March 07: The world’s first jazz record was released: Livery Stable Blues by the Original Dixieland Jass Band.

March 13: The Russian newspaper Izvestia (meaning: News) was founded.

March 15: Russian Revolution: Prince Georgy Lvov became the first Minister-Chairman of the Russian Provisional Government.

150 years (1867)

March 01: Nebraska becomes the 37th state of the US.

March 03: The Tenure of Office Act comes into effect in the USA (over President

Andrew Johnson’s veto).

March 11: Verdi’s opera Don Carlos was performed for the first time, in Paris, France.

175 Years (1842)

March 09: The first documented discovery of gold in California, USA – at Rancho San

Francisco. This led to a small gold rush, with about 2,000 people coming to mine gold.

March 09: Verdi’s opera Nabucco was performed for the first time, at La Scala in

Milan, Italy.

200 Years (1817)

March 04: James Monroe was inaugurated as the 5th President of the United States. He was the last president who was also a founding father.

March 08: The New York Stock Exchange was founded.

250 Years (1767)

March 07: Death of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, French Canadian explorer

and colonist. Governor of Louisiana. Founder of New Orleans.

March 15: Birth of Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States.

300 Years (1717)

March 02: The first ballet to be performed in England: The Loves of Mars and Venus by

John Weaver, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.

Led by a New York Times photo entry that earned Best in Show recognition, judges gave out more than 1,100 awards in the 38th edition of the SND Best of News Design creative competition, held in February at the Coliseum in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The New York Times for its single-day photo series, ‘They Are Slaughtering Us Like Animals.’ This is what the judges had to say:

“The photographer has an incredible ability to take you into the corners and into the center. In every part of the photograph, there’s something to capture your eye. There’s a woman just sitting in the 7-Eleven … her hands wiping a tear. Another image where the person is just walking away … photos taken in difficult lighting situations. It takes incredible finesse to get the comfort level with subjects and the police force. These images will be burned into your psyche. You won’t be able to get away from them.”

It is the second straight year The New York Times has earned Best in Show, and its fourth time overall.

In total, 1,154 awards were given out, up from 906 awards in the previous edition.

Compared with previous years, the judges were generous: the number of awards represents 17% of the 6,671 total entries. This includes 1059 Awards of Excellence, 78 Silver Medals, 9 Gold Medals, and 10 Judges’ Special Recognitions.

Judges also have decided on the winners of the World’s Best Designed Newspaper prizes, which will be announced at the SND Annual Workshop & Exhibition in Charlotte in April. They will come from among the 12 finalists:

North State Journal, Raleigh, North Carolina
Der Freitag, Berlin, Germany
Politico Europe, Brussels, Belgium
WeMedia01, Hong Kong
Público, Lisbon, Portugal
Het Parool, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Villages Daily Sun, The Villages, Florida
Politiken, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Guardian, London
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
Die Zeit, Hamburg, Germany
The New York Times, New York

Results, with a searchable database of all the winners, are posted here. The top 10 award winners, according to the unofficial tally:

Washington Post
Los Angeles Times
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer
The New York Times
National Post (Canada)
Minneapolis Star Tribune
National Geographic Magazine
Buffalo News
Omaha World-Herald
El Telégrafo (Ecuador)

SND is giving you a chance to get to know some of the SNDCLT Speakers before the conference.

This week Yuri Victor, Principle Designer and Developer for Vox Media.

Greicy Mella

Greicy is currently a designer at the New York Daily News. Prior to that she designed at several New York City newspapers, served as an art director at the National Enquirer and a layout artist at HAMPTONS and GOTHAM magazines. She received grants to attend  SNDMakes in Austin and Chicago. After her prototyping experience at Makes, she went on to complete a module in UX Design at General Assembly as well as JavaScript and other coding languages.

Nicole Zhu

Nicole is a full-stack engineer at Vox Media working on their content management system. She recently graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in computer science, where she was the interactive editor and creative director of the independent online student publication, North by Northwestern, and a fellow at the Knight Lab. In her free time, she likes to read, write, and co-host a podcast called Sweet and Sour that explores different aspects of the Asian American experience.

Chloe Meister

Chloe Meister is a senior graphic design major at Syracuse University. Most of her time at Syracuse has been spent at the independent student newspaper, The Daily Orange, where she designed and art directed for her first three years of college. Her work at The Daily Orange has been recognized in several student SND competitions, and last spring she was named the Society for News Design/Marshall Matlock Student Designer of the Year. Chloe has interned as a designer at The Boston Globe and Northern Virginia Magazine, and she spent last fall studying abroad in Denmark. When she’s not designing news, Chloe can be found making gifs, eating tacos or petting dogs.

Stephanie Hays

Stephanie Hays is a Junior at Elon University. She worked as the Opinion Editor at Liberty High School’s The Patriot Press, where she realized she wanted to work for the paper in college and immediately joined Elon’s student newspaper, The Pendulum. She became the design editor her freshman year and has never looked back. Stephanie has led The Pendulum through a redesign and helped merge the newspaper and the broadcast news station to create Elon News Network. And this summer, she will intern at the The Virginian Pilot as a design intern. She enjoys cooking running and scouting out free cookies at her coffee shop.

Clare Ramirez

Clare Ramirez is a senior journalism major at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She spent last summer as a graphic design intern at Los Angeles Magazine, where she created a Table of Contents layout that the magazine used for its redesign. She started designing for Syracuse’s independent student newspaper, The Daily Orange, during her freshman year and spent two years in editorial before returning this fall as the paper’s Presentation Director. After graduation, Clare will be moving to Minneapolis to work as a design intern with The Star Tribune.

Interested in writing for SNDCampus? Email us at sndcampus@gmail.com

For those who live in Japan, earthquakes are almost part of their daily routine.

A tremor occurs in Japan at least every five minutes, and each year there are up to 2,000 quakes that can be felt by local residents. The average is between 4 and 5 magnitude that is considered “normal” (2.5 to 5.4 is often felt, but only causes minor damage).

On March 11, 2011, an earthquake measuring 9 on Richter scale shook northeastern Japan, unleashing a savage tsunami. The tsunami caused nuclear accidents, primarily the level 7 meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex, and the associated evacuation zones affecting hundreds of thousands of residents. The damage was massive!

Satoshi Toyoshima, Assistant Graphics Editor from the Sankei Shimbun (Tokyo, Japan) produced a full coverage graphics about the reconstruction progress after 6 years from this event. In a special interview for snd.org he explains about the execution involved to create this project.

SND: What was the main goal of this project?

Toyoshima: The main purpose of this project is to reflect upon the 6th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake in terms of recovery and reconstruction progress in different perspectives. This infographic is heavily data-driven and the content ranges from infrastructure status to industry’s recovery. I was trying to visualize the data as simple as possible. I chose a minimal color palette so that an entire graphic is easy on the eyes. I tried to design a whole package as if it were a study tool for readers and let them re-recognize the significance of disasters.

SND: How long did it take for you to finish the project?

Toyoshima: The initial planning meeting with a project editor was held two weeks before the publishing date, March 11, 2017.  Then, it took about a week to assemble all data needed before I started working on the project. I spent a total of 30 working hours including copy editing process.

SND: Did you require any assistance from reporters?

Toyoshima: We usually work closely with a reporter when a big project is planned. The benefit of working with a non-graphic, verbal people is that you have an opportunity to get a good feedback whether or not the graphic makes sense.  Also there are more opportunities to request additional resources in order to fulfill the visual contents.

SND: How many designers are involved to work on this project?

Toyoshima: This infographic is done by myself.

SND: What programs were used to produce it?

Toyoshima: We use Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop in Windows platform. We switched to Win system from Mac when the newsroom adopted a new editing system in 2010.

Satoshi Toyoshima is an assistant graphics editor with The Sankei Shimbun (circ. 1.6 million) in Tokyo.  He started his professional career as infographics artist with The Detroit News in 1996 right after he finished his master’s degree at the Missouri School of Journalism.  He has worked with USA TODAY, Gannett News Service, Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader and the Columbia (Mo.) Missourian during his graduate study. His works have been recognized by SND.

About the earthquake:

Date	March 11, 2011; 6 years ago
Origin time	14:46:24 JST (UTC+09:00)
Duration	6 minutes[1]
Magnitude	9.0–9.1 Mw[2]
Depth	29 km (18 mi)
Epicenter	38.322°N 142.369°ECoordinates: 38.322°N 142.369°E
Type	Megathrust
Areas affected	Japan (shaking, tsunami) Pacific Rim (tsunami)
Total damage	Tsunami wave, flooding, landslides, fires, building and infrastructure damage, nuclear incidents including radiation releases

Source: Wikipedia

The Society for News Design has announced seven finalists for the award of World’s Best Designed Digital News experience. Each is wildly different in their focuses but share an overriding commitment to visual storytelling. The best of examples of their visual storytelling and overall product design move viewers emotionally. The finalists’ attention to detail and most of all to crafting sublime user experiences are what set them apart.

The World’s Best judging team considered hundreds of publications from around the world (listed in alphabetical order by last name) *

• Kat Downs, The Washington Post
• Martin Kotynek, Zeit Online
• Marianna Santos, formerly of Fusion
• Jessica Yu, formerly of The Wall Street Journal

And this team chose these seven nominees because they were exceptional in all, or most of the following criteria:

• Meet their audience where they are
• Engage their communities
• Have a clear focus
• Create gorgeous and useful experiences
• Respect users and solve their problems
• Demonstrate sound judgment
• Be ambitious, daring and audacious

And these are the finalists (listed in alphabetical order). Please join us in Charlotte for the announcement of the winner:

The Finalists 

The Guardian

The Guardian has a distinctive personality and as a brand it infuses everything they do. The Guardian’s work this year spanned multiple platforms and a wide range of subjects all the while demonstrating also demonstrated a consistent knack for creating surprising and delightful experiences.

The Intercept

The Intercept is a well-developed brand identity — elegant use of color, typography, and an easy-to-navigate site with delightful touches, like the blinking underscore in their logo that is used throughout their designs. Smart interfaces like their document annotation, podcast hub, and a beautifully implemented infinite scroll (especially on parts of a series) make it a compelling experience that expertly communicates the intent and purpose of the endeavor.

National Geographic

National Geographic features a defining, bold design approach. Visuals are core to their storytelling, and it consistently comes through in all of their experiences, making it stand out from its peers. Use of photography and information graphics is stellar. They consistently delight, surprise and create unique approaches to their main coverage areas.

The New York Times

The New York Times continues to excel not only in their core products but in their newest media extensions. The Times has dynamic and differentiated designs. With its conservative homepage, the Times defines trust and sound news judgment. And the products beyond the homepage are infused with innovation and deliver The Times’ storytelling in the best possible ways.

The Outline

The Outline uses a provocative design, which shows the courage of trying something new that actually works. It is not just gimmickry but rather is a deliberate functional discovery platform well suited for the needs of today’s millennials. It is not trying to adapt to the next generation of consumers but rather inventing a product for them. This is an “authentic” pure digital experience.

Quartz

Quartz has a dynamic range of products from their excellent newsletters, push notifications to their mobile site and chat app. Quartz continuously shows that simple, thoughtful changes to traditional storytelling methods amount to significantly distinctive, new approaches to publishing. You can do it differently. They clearly understand what their readers need and know how best to deliver it.

The Washington Post

The Washington Post raised the bar on what news organizations are able to achieve to meet users where they are. They are present on every relevant platform; they manage to keep their brand identity consistent over these channels. The Washington Post’s experiments with storytelling on Amazon’s Alexa, Virtual Reality, and Progressive Web Apps are bold; their interactive features continue to be among the best in our industry.

* The Judges did not discuss or vote on publications they are associated with currently or in the recent past.

SND is giving you a chance to get to know some of the SNDCLT Speakers before the conference.

This week Fernando Baptista, Senior Graphics Editor of National Geographic Magazine.

WATCH NOW!

 Read the SND CLT interview with Baptista

Fernando is the current Senior Graphics Editor at National Geographic Magazine, where he freely experiments with a varying number of mediums, including sculpture. The two-time, Emmy-nominated artist has also won the Peter Sullivan Award — sometimes referred to as “The Pulitzer Prize” for infographics — from Malofiej. 

SND is giving you a chance to get to know some of the SNDCLT Speakers before the conference.

This week Ashley Boyd, Pastry Chef  •  300 East and Heritage Food & Drink

When: Tuesday March 28, 2017   Where: Facebook   What time: 4 pm EST time

Cartoon by Philip Ytournel

‘Toon In, ‘Toon Out: An Illustrated Guide to Donald Trump’s First 100 Days In Office

Last year, in October, Donald Trump spoke in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and released a plan for his first 100 days in office.

This plan outlined three main areas of focus:

1. Cleaning up Washington, including imposing term limits on Congress

2. Protecting American workers

3. Restoring rule of law

Like it or not, US President Donald Trump‘s decision  affected not only America, but also the world. Allow us to highlight the impact of his presidency in a cartoon. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a cartoon is at least worth a million.

Society for News Design and the Danish newspaper Politiken are currently inviting cartoonists from all over the globe to submit entries that can answer the following question: “How did Donald Trump manage his first 100 days as president?”

How does it work?

Once you submit the artwork, your news organization will gain access the entire catalog of cartoon entries in this project. All contributing cartoonists and news organizations must accept this shared copyright.

How can I participate?

Simple. You may choose to produce a special cartoon for the project or select one which has already been published. Submit as many entries as you wish. All cartoons must be e-mailed to Søren Nyeland , with your full name on the subject line. Please submit your entries before Friday, April 21st, 2017 .

How does the sharing process work?

Politiken will organize the cartoons in Dropbox and then distribute them via WeTransfer. Both print and digital cartoons will be published on Saturday, April 29th and then throughout the following days.

Important!

By submitting the cartoon for the project, authors and publications agree that the copyright will be shared with all participants in the project.

All publications and cartoonists worldwide are invited to participate in all platform. Apart from sharing the cartoons with all publications/participants, the cartoons will also be showcased at snd.org.

The fourteen infographics experts that form the jury of the 25th Edition of the Malofiej Awards will have to choose, between Sunday March 26th and Wednesday March 29th, which are the best pieces of work among the 1,334 entries submitted to competition. In the categories of printed graphics 750 entries have been submitted, 14% more than the previous year, and in the online categories the jury will have to choose between 584 pieces of work. The entries come from 134 media located in 31 countries around the world.

This year’s winners will be announced on Friday, March 31th, during the closing dinner and award ceremony that will be held in the School of Communication of the University of Navarra. In addition to gold, silver and bronze medals, jury members will have to choose the Best of Show Award to the best piece of work submitted to competition, Miguel Urabayen Award to the Best Map and the best Climate Change and Environmental Commitment graphic, best Human Rights graphic and Equality and Woman’s Promotion graphic. All of them in both printed and online categories.

This jury is formed by Michael Brenner, from Beyond Words Studio in London (UK), Anna Flagg, data journalist at The Marshall Project (USA); Tom Giratikanon, Graphics Editor at The New York Times (USA); Hiram Henriquez, president of H2H Graphics&Design and Professor at the University of Miami (USA); Nathaniel Lash, journalist at the Tampa Bay Times (USA); Alberto Lucas, Senior Graphics Editor at National Geographic (USA); Isabel Meirelles, from OCAD University in Toronto (Canada); Claus Nørregaard, from Politiken (Denmark); Ramón Salaverría, Professor at the University of Navarra (Spain); Petri Salmén, from the Helsingin Sanomat (Finland); Jon Schwabish, editor at PolicyViz (USA); Sarah Slobin, Things Editor at Quartz (USA); José Roberto de Toledo, from O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper (Brazil); and Javier Zarrazina from Vox.com (USA).

Pamplona, the Infographics capital of the world

Pamplona becomes for a week the Infographics capital of the world and brings together the best from Infographics activity from the principal media (newspapers, magazines, agencies) from all over the world. More than 150 professionals meet up at the Infographics World Summit that will begin next Wednesday 29th of March at 7:30 pm at the Constable’s Palace (located in Calle Mayor 2, Pamplona). The sessions will be held at the School of Communication on Thursday and Friday with an intensive program, which includes internationally renowned speakers such as Julius Wiedemann, executive editor at Taschen, Rob Bieling, CEO at MapCreator (the Netherlands), Pablo Loscri, Head of Graphics at Argentinian newspaper La Nación, who won Best of Show in Malofiej’s last edition, and Mariano Zafra, Infographics and Digital Visualization director at Univision (USA), all of them who will join the jury as speakers.

Before the Infographics World Summit, participants from the professional workshop “Show, Don’t Tell!” have the opportunity to work hand by hand with three of the best graphics artists in the world: John Grimwade, who is now a Professor at Ohio University, Fernando G. Baptista, Senior Graphics Editor at National Geographic, and Xaquín González, former editor at Guardian Visuals. Each of them will run a workshop with a specific topic and methodology. The program includes practical work and sessions in common for the three groups.

This year Malofiej offers for the first time an infographics practical workshop for university students. It will be taught by Michael Stoll, Professor at the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany). The program is a result of a collaboration agreement between this university and the School of Communication from the University of Navarra on the occasion of Malofiej’s 25th anniversary.

At Street level

Simultaneously, during the month of March in the Constable’s Palace, in the old quarter of the city, there will be a monographic exposition entitled “Pamplona infográfica.” It includes 25 panels of a wide-format which, through statistics and visualizations, portray the city of Pamplona. Politics, economics, sports, meteorology, immigration, gastronomy, exports, women, traffic, sexual habits… to provide an original portrayal of what has been conceived, carried out and produced by Errea Comunicación for the SND-E and the University of Navarra. Besides the 25 specific panels depicting the city, which are hanging in the courtyard in the entrance, in the other rooms of the building, other visualizations are shown. These visualizations, drawn up since 2010, depict procurement activities and water sanitization, the collection and recycling of waste, public transport and other projects run by the Mancomunidad de la Comarca de Pamplona. The exposition will include a catalogue which can be bought.

Reference Book

As is done every year, during the opening of the Infographics World Summit, the annual Malofiej volume will be presented. The book collects last year’s winners as well as essays, articles and interviews. The volume features Kat Downs, Graphics Director at The Washington Post; Lena Groeger, from ProPublica (USA); Mariano Zafra, who shows the creation and consolidation of a multiplatform group in Univision; Chiqui Esteban, who writes about election coverage in the United States and its consequences; Xabier Díaz de Cerio, from Fábrica de Ideas (Peru); Hiram Henríquez, who approaches the reawaken of illustrated infographics; and Miguel Urabayen, with a historical outline about Robert Chapin maps in Time Magazine.

It’s been 25 years since Malofiej’s creation in 1993 and many things have happened. Infographics has also changed a lot. The field that revolutionized the newspapers, firstly, and the digital media has evolved just as fast as the technology itself. For this reason, we have asked professionals throughout the world for an analysis of this evolution and for a prognosis of where they want things to go over the next few years. This is what this is: “Past, Present, Future. 25 Years of Information Graphics,” a book that brings together the introductions written by Alberto Cairo and Isabel Meirelles, 35 essays and everything from the Best of Show conceded in Malofiej over the year. It will be presented in March 29th.

Origin of the media that have submitted entries to competition

USA, 26; Germany, 14; Spain, 12; Brazil, 10; UK, 7; Finland, 7; Italy, 7; Mexico, 7; Argentina, 5; Portugal, 4; Switzerland, 4; Colombia, 3; Russia, 3; Chile, 2; China, 2; Guatemala, 2; India, 2; Norway, 2; Oman, 2; Peru, 2; Belarus, 1; Denmark, 1; Ecuador, 1; UAE, 1; Slovenia, 1; France, 1; the Netherlands, 1; Hungary, 1; Czech Republic, 1; Singapore, 1; Japan, 1.

The book collects last year’s winners as well as essays, articles and interviews.

The volume features Kat Downs, Graphics Director at The Washington Post; Lena Groeger, from ProPublica (USA); Mariano Zafra, who shows the creation and consolidation of a multiplatform group in Univision; Chiqui Esteban, who writes about election coverage in the United States and its consequences; Xabier Díaz de Cerio, from Fábrica de Ideas (Peru); Hiram Henríquez, who approaches the reawaken of illustrated infographics; and Miguel Urabayen, with a historical outline about Robert Chapin maps in Time Magazine.

See Malofiej 24 winners here

On Thursday the state of North Carolina reached an “awkward compromise” to repeal House Bill 2, the controversial measure that restricted cities such as Charlotte from enacting anti-discrimination ordinances and required transgender people in public buildings to use the bathroom corresponding with the gender marked on their birth certificate.

“In a perfect world, with a good General Assembly, we would have repealed HB2 fully today, and added full statewide protections for LGBT North Carolinians,” said the newly elected governor of the state, Roy Cooper.

We agree with this sentiment. We’re hopeful the new legislation represents a first step toward an embracing of rights to those who are victims of discrimination. As this clash of social and political interests has played out, it has caused us to reflect as a Society on our reasons for going to Charlotte. One strong reason is that the people of Charlotte have supported equal rights for everyone, and in fact initiated the conflict by passing an ordinances to protect the LGBTQ community.

Last year, we published a statement regarding HB2 and a workshop Code of Conduct. We are ONLY working with venues that support Always Welcome Charlotte. Our host venue, the Sheraton in downtown Charlotte, has been equally adamant in affirming equal treatment of all minorities.

SND celebrates its standing as a geographically, culturally diverse and multidisciplinary journalism organization, and we believe everyone is equal under the law.

HB2 has proven costly for the state, as it has seen celebrities including Bruce Springsteen and Itzhak Perlman shun bookings in North Carolina, has seen businesses such as Paypal scrap business ventures there, and lost sporting events including the NBA All-Star Game and NCAA basketball tournaments. The total financial toll is in the billions.

* * *

The repeal bill, HB142, is flawed. It continues discrimination against those in the LGBTQ community. (It is also worth noting, opposition to the new bill comes from both sides). It also will “effectively ban LGBTQ non-discrimination protections statewide through 2020 and permanently bar cities from passing laws that ensure transgender people can access facilities in accordance with their identity,” according to Human Rights Campaign, which advocates for LGBTQ equality.

GLAAD, the NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union are among other organizations denouncing HB142, as did the mayor of Charlotte. In an editorial, the Charlotte Observer said, “The new bill ensures that all gay people – not just transgender people seeking to relieve themselves without being harassed – are susceptible to unequal treatment for at least the next 3½ years.”

In less than a month, we will meet in Charlotte and reaffirm our own values of diversity, inclusion and free speech.

As part of the program, we will address HB2 and the coverage of LGBTQ rights in the media. We will ask: What is the role of visual information and design in getting across to readers the facts about complicated and emotional issues. We’ll announce more details soon.

And we will redouble our efforts to build equality — everywhere.

– Stephen Komives, executive director, SND
– Jon Wile, 2017 workshop chair
– Steve Dorsey, 2017 workshop chair

I am pleased to announce the appointment of our four new members on board.

• Let us welcome Adonis Durado, who has accepted to take the role of Print Publication Director.
• Alexandro Medrano is our new regional director Region 11 – Mexico, Central America.
• Kyle Ellis is now the regional director overseeing the U.S. and Canada. Kyle is organizing this year’s Annual Workshop in Charlotte and will focus on growing and nurturing our membership in North America. Contact him with questions or ideas!
• Rebekah Monson is joining the board as an at-large member tasked with helping push SND’s efforts at outreach, grant-funding and modernizing the Society’s platforms for managing our relationships with members.

Learn more about the new members below and please welcome them! – Alphabetical order

Adonis Durado is an award-winning designer, art director and poet. He is the current Chief Creative Officer at Times of Oman and its sister publication, Al Shabiba. Durado’s work has been recognized internationally by SPD, Type Director’s Club, the Malofiej Infographics Awards, among other organizations.

Alexandro Medrano is the Innovation and Strategic Planning Director for Grupo Imagen. Awarded with more than 300 international awards for design, journalism, and online contributions, he is one of the most conferred editorial designers in Latin America.
His work in publishing design has been recognized as a worldwide trend by WAN IFRA (World Association of Newspaper).
For Excelsior, he has won more than 250 awards among which he received the World Best-Designed Award, given by the Society for News Design (SND), on its 33rd edition in 2012.
In February 2013, he was part of the International jury for the 34th issue of SND´s selection of the Best Designed Newspapers in the world.
Recently he has collaborated with Strategic Planning, Workspace construction, as well as the scenery for the news-casting center for Grupo Imagem new facilities.

Kyle Ellis has served the Society for News Design in various capacities since 2011, most recently in a staff role as Director of Strategic Programs and co-chair of the 39th annual workshop and exhibition in Charlotte. As a member of the SND leadership team, he has planned and facilitated design-thinking bootcamps for more than 300 members of news design and civic technology communities since 2014. Additionally, he has played a key role in many of the organizations most successful fundraising efforts, securing more than $350,000 in grant monies from the Knight Foundation, Gannett Foundation, and Dow Jones News Fund.

Rebekah Monson is co-founder and VP of Product and Editorial for WhereBy.Us, a local media startup that connects people to their cities through storytelling and experiences. Its publications, Miami’s The New Tropic and Seattle’s The Evergrey, produce email newsletters, original storytelling, merchandise and events that reach more than a million curious locals each year. WhereBy.Us became profitable in its first year and is currently expanding its tech offerings and scaling to new markets. Rebekah also co-founded Code for Miami and Hacks/Hackers Miami. She serves on the board of Miami-Dade County’s Millennial Task Force and actively supports many initiatives to improve diversity in journalism and technology. She frequently speaks and consults about working at the intersection of technology, storytelling and civic engagement for journalism and technology companies, governments and nonprofits.

April is only starting and Society for News Design provides a calendar of events happening this month.

“The best that you can do” is the 2017 SND Year-Long Conversation to provide incentive and help designers worldwide to improve themselves, be more creative and to do their best designs in print and online, by thinking in advance some exciting projects and share them with SND community.

Any opportunity in the design department should be taken as a challenge for us to overcome our limits and to do our best and be more creative. Nowadays it is a great privilege to have a space in print or online where you can show your design and you should not lose this chance.

Download the March 2017 SND wallpaper created by Nuri Ducassi (@UberNuri ), or download the 2017 full SND Calendar with the most important events of the year and of course SND events.

SHOWCASE is SND’s new space for designers to show their works in print and online. Be proud of your work and inspire others to be creative.

Did you or your team produce a special coverage or project involving a good design? Please send it to mailto:snd@snd.org and we will consider promoting it on our website.

APRIL 2017 events

⇒Unite & Rebel, a creative conference focused on innovation, risk-taking and team building in media hosted by the Society for News Design. Join us April 19–21 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Register here: http://www.snd.org/clt2017/ –  All speakers here

5 Years (2012)

April 01: Aung San Suu Kyi wins a seat at the lower house of the Burmese parliament under her opposition party, the National League for Democracy.

April 02: 31 People are died after a Russian Jet UTair crashed and burst in to flames moments after take-off.

April 09: Facebook acquire Instagram, an app that combines photography and social networking, for $1 billion.

April 20: The Bhoja Air flight from Karachi burst into flames and crashes near Islamabad killing all 127 passenger and crew.

10 Years (2007)

April 16: Virginia Tech shooting, Blacksburg, Virginia, US. Seung-Hui Cho, a senior student diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder, shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others.

April 23: Death of Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia.

April 25: Death of Alan Ball, British footballer. The youngest member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team.

April 25: Death of Arthur Milton, British footballer and cricketer. The last man to play for England at a national level in both sports.

April 26: AIceland and Norway sign an agreement to co-operate on security and defense

15 Years (2002)

April 04: The Angolan Civil War ends after 26 years. MPLA victory.

April 26: Erfurt school massacre, Germany. 19-year-old expelled student Robert Steinhäuser returned to his school with a gun and shot dead 13 members of staff, 2 students and a police officer. He then committed suicide.

20 Years (1997)

April 10: Britain’s National Trust ban deer-hunting on its land.

April 13: American golfer Tiger Woods, aged 21, becomes the youngest player to win the US Masters championship.

April 21: Inder Kumar Gujral becomes Prime Minister of India following H. D. Deve Gowda’s resignation after losing a vote of confidence

25 Years (1992)

April 02: Pierre Bérégovoy becomes Prime Minister of France.

April 06: Microsoft releases its Windows 3.1 graphical operating environment.

April 06: Death of Isaac Asimov, prolific Russian-born American writer and biochemist.

April 07: The European Community and the USA recognised the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

April 08: American tennis star Arthur Ashe announced that he had AIDS, acquired from a blood transfusion during heart surgery.

April 09: Former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega was convicted of drug trafficking, racketeering and money laundering at a court in Miami, Florida, US.

April 09: Sali Berisha became President of Albania.

April 10: Baltic Exchange bombing, 30 St. Mary Axe, London. A one-ton IRA truck bomb exploded outside the Baltic Exchange, destroying part of the façade and damaging the rest of the building and surrounding buildings.

April 12: Disneyland Paris (formerly known as Euro Disney) opens in France.

April 15: A massive fire breaks out in a tent city of Mina near Makkah, Saudi Arabia during an annual pilgrimage. 343 people were killed and over 1,300 injured.

April 16: The President of Afghanistan, Mohammad Najibullah, is forced to resign as his regime collapsed.

April 22: A series of gas explosions in the sewer system in Guadalajara, Mexico killed 206 people, injured hundreds and left 15,000 homeless.

April 23: The world’s largest McDonald’s fast-food restaurant opens in Beijing, China.

April 23: Death of Satyajit Ray, Indian film director, writer and illustrator.

April 27: Betty Boothroyd becomes the first female Speaker of Britain’s House of Commons.

April 29: Lithuania becomes the first former Soviet republic to join the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

30 Years (1987)

April 11: The London Agreement is signed by King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres.

40 Years (1977)

April 02: British race horse Red Rum win the Grand National for a historic third time. It is considered one of the greatest moments in sporting history, and the record still stands today.

April 18: American writer Alex Haley was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for his book Roots.

50 Years (1967)

April 01: The United States Department of Transportation begin operating.

April 04: Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. give a famous speech in which he stated his opposition to the Vietnam War. The speech Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence was delivered at the Riverside Church in New York City.

April 07: Israel invade Syria – one of the key events that led to the Six-Day War in June.

April 08: The United Kingdom wins the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, with the song Puppet on a String sung by Sandie Shaw.

April 09: The Boeing 737 made its first flight. It went into service in February 1968 and became the world’s best-selling jet airliner.

April 13: Death of Luis Somoza Debayle, President of Nicaragua.

60 Years (1957)

April 06: Olympic Airlines is founded in Greece (as Olympic Airways) by shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.

April 15: White Rock, British Columbia, Canada is incorporated as a new city after splitting from Surrey.

April 24: The Suez Canal fully reopen to shipping following the Suez Crisis of October – November 1956.

70 Years (1947)

April 01: Death of King George II of Greece. Succeeded by his brother Paul.

April 06: The first Tony Awards are presented, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, New York City, US.

April 07: Death of Henry Ford, American industrialist, car manufacturer and inventor. Founder of the Ford Motor Company.

April 16: Texas City disaster. A French freighter loaded with fertiliser exploded in Texas City harbour, Texas, US, killing 576 people and injuring 4,000.

April 20: Death of King Christian X of Denmark. Succeeded by his son Frederick IX.

75 Years (1942)

April 18: Pierre Laval became Prime Minister of France for the fourth time.

April 26: The worst mining disaster in history. An explosion at the Honkeiko (also known as Benxihu) colliery in Benxi, China killed 1,549 miners

80 Years (1937)

April 12: British aviation engineer Frank Whittle ground-tested the first jet engine.

April 26: Spanish Civil War: German planes bombed the Basque town of Guernica.

April 26: The worst mining disaster in history. An explosion at the Honkeiko (also known as Benxihu) colliery in Benxi, China killed 1,549 miners.

April 27: The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London opens.

90 Years (1927)

April 07: AT&T give the first public demonstration of its prototype long-distance videophone service (then known as the picture telephone).

April 12: Shanghai massacre Republic of China. Communist Party organisations in Shanghai are violently suppressed by Chiang Kai-shek’s military forces and conservative elements of the Chinese Nationalist Party

100 years (1917)

April 01: The Danish West Indies are officially transferred to the USA and renamed the United States Virgin Islands, after the USA purchased them from Denmark for $25 million.

April 06: World War I: the USA declared war on Germany and entered the war.

April 16: Vladimir Lenin returns to Russia after 17 years in exile in Siberia and Western Europe.

125 Years (1892)

April 12: The first use of voting machines in the US, at a municipal election in Lockport, New York

April 12: The first truly portable typewriter, the Blickensderfer typewriter, is patented by George Blickensderfer of Stamford, Connecticut, US.

April 13: Birth of Sir Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish physicist who developed radar.

April 15: General Electric is founded in the USA when the Edison General Electric Company and the Thomson-Houston Company merged

150 years (1867)

April 01: The first municipal election in the US in which blacks are eligible to vote is held in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

April 01: The International Exhibition (World’s Fair) of 1867 is held in Paris, France. There were more than 50,000 exhibitors, and more than 9 million people visited it. (till Oct 31)

April 07: Johnson C. Smith University is established in Charlotte, North Carolina, US.

April 16: Birth of Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer (Wright brothers) who achieved the first powered, sustained and controlled plane flight.

April 25: Tokyo, Japan is opened for foreign trade following a request by the new emperor, Meiji.

250 Years (1767)

April 07: The Burmese–Siamese War ended. Burmese victory which ended the Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya.

We are excited to have partnered with an innovative service provider to help SND members stand out in an increasingly digital world. The new .design domain name is going to be provided free for the first year via our own snd.design site.

The basic premise for our individual members is simple, after all, do you .com or do you .design? By using .design you are often able to get shorter, better names and domains that would have otherwise been unavailable in .com. Furthermore, it adds context to your branding in an explicit and elegant way, which extends from your website’s URL to the email address you create for it as well.

At snd.design, members will be able to log in with their member IDs to get access to choose their domain name. The offer also includes a year of email hosting to create fun and memorable addresses like hello@yourname.design. The site is powered by domain registrar, Porkbun.com, which always includes free WHOIS security as well as SSL certs. Anyone who has ever been upsold on these services elsewhere knows this is a good deal!

More importantly than the great deal, we’re excited to prepare our members and community for this powerful new shift in Internet navigation and online branding. The importance of this development is underscored by the many major companies that have not only secured their brand names in .design but are putting up content rich sites. Within the news and content space, NPR.design, Facebook.design, and Medium.design are all notable. Then sites like Airbnb.design, Booking.design, Kohler.design and T-Mobile’s Telekom.design show further variety in the corporate landscape. These big players use their .design sites to house new content streams and highlight unique facets of their brand that would be otherwise impossible on their main .com sites. They almost universally talk about what it is their design team does, how they work, and are aimed at bolstering recruiting in the competitive design employment market.

“There is nothing better than being able to welcome a whole new industry of design to the growing .design community. The Society for News Design is a particularly engaged and ever relevant group of designers and big picture thinkers,” said .design’s Director of Business Development, Andrew Merriam. “The wide design community, across disciplines, is often focused on making the world a better, more intelligible and welcoming place. The big picture mindset that designers and SND members use in their work means that .design will become synonymous with both leadership and creativity and so we are very excited to continue to support SND and its members.”

It was the innovative potential for its individual members that prompted SND to partner with .design.

“We are excited that members will be able to join an active community and also brand themselves in the digital design space,” said Matt Mansfield, SND’s Outreach Director, who worked on the collaboration. “SND members are always at the forefront of innovation and leadership. This partnership is another terrific example.”

It’s hard to believe we are less than a week from the Society for News Design annual workshop in Charlotte, N.C. We want to share a few tips for when you arrive in the Queen City.

FROM THE AIRPORT

After relaxing in one of the famed rocking chairs at Charlotte Douglas International, the easiest way to get to the Sheraton Hotel at 555 S. McDowell St. — or anywhere in Uptown (we call downtown Uptown in Charlotte) — is by cab. There’s a $25 flat rate from the airport to Uptown. You also can use Uber or Lyft, with pickup at Zone D in the Arrivals area for ride-sharing services.

GETTING YOUR BADGE

You can pick up your workshop badge outside the Carolina Ballroom, located through the main lobby of the Sheraton Hotel. You need your badge to get into all SND Charlotte events, including the Opening Reception (and all Hands-On sessions in particular). Badge pick up starts at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday and continues through 7 p.m. The desk will reopen again on Thursday morning at 8 a.m.

OPENING RECEPTION

The SND Charlotte party officially kicks off with the Opening Reception, sponsored by Alley Interactive and Advance Local, at the U.S. National Whitewater Center on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Buses to USNWC will begin departing the Sheraton at 5 p.m. on 15-minute intervals (you can also drive and park if you prefer). SND Charlotte will provide passed appetizers, one complimentary drink, and the band Yacht Rock will perform at the Whitewater Center. Please have your badge with you, or an ID, to get into the venue.

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE APP

Everyone has received an email invite to our workshop schedule app, which is powered by Sched.com. You can also visit sndclt2017.sched.com to create your schedule, leave feedback about sessions, and sign up for seat-limited sessions. If you did not receive an invite to Sched, check your spam/junk/clutter folder. If you still don’t have an invite, email Jon/Steve/Kyle for help.

MISCELLANEOUS

Some other things to consider:

• Grits with Gurus: There are still spots available to have breakfast and a great conversation with a design all-star on Thursday or Friday morning.
• Silent Auction, sponsored by Hoefler& Co.: This SND workshop tradition benefits the SND Foundation, which awards travel grants and scholarships to students. Please think about bringing an item to donate, and some cash to bid.
• Fun Run: Bring your sneakers for a quick jog, or a longer run, through Charlotte’s greenway on Saturday morning at 8 a.m.

FOLLOW ALONG FROM HOME

Not attending the workshop this year? Follow along at home. Our student newsroom will be providing coverage of every session. Follow coverage on social media #sndclt.

SND newsletter is ready! This edition we talk about the most important value in your career and life – your health. 

Download here

If you have a good health, the sky is the limit; as they say health is wealth. Of course, no exaggeration, but the combination of physical exercises and a healthy food intake will put you in a good shape.

Some great designers from the industry share how their sport activities and positive attitude thought them in their lives.

Ready for Charlotte workshop 2017? The conference is just some days ahead and it’s a great time to meet old, new friends and update ourselves with what’s happening in the industry. 

You will also find in this edition an interview with Javier Errea, about Malofiej 25 years, regional news, design books released and much more.

Take a time to check it and any contribution for the next edition is welcome: snd@snd.org

You may well be worn out, tired and bleary-eyed on Friday morning, but don’t let that stop you from joining the discussion around the Best of News Design. We’ll have coffee, and we’ll do the talking.

The annual public Print Competition Committee meeting is at 8 a.m. Friday, ahead of the busy final day of SNDCLT. Join me, along with SND38 coordinator Tim Parks and SND37 coordinator Andrea Zagata for a candid state of the competition summary.

While our move to St. Petersburg for SND38 in February was a logistical success, steps must be taken — and soon — to ensure 38 more successful years of the Best of News Design. We’ll talk about issues and answers as well as solicit member feedback on both the highs and lows of SND’s flagship competition. We’ll also share insight and an exclusive selection of winning entries from this year’s judging.

Chris Rukan named SND39 coordinator

The Best of News Design Creative Competition will return to St. Petersburg in February 2018 and will be led by Chris Rukan of the Washington Post. Full details will be shared during the competition committee meeting, but the important part is that Rukan is a competition veteran, having been a facilitator and judge as well as team leader for the intricate Category 20 that combines print and digital entries.

It has been more than 15 years since the coordinator hailed from the Post, and the committee is excited to work with and for Rukan over the next year.

The coordinator’s primary job is organizing the 27 judges who will deliberate the SND39 entries. If you are interested in judging, or wish to nominate a judge, you may do so right here, right now, or you may reach out to Crutchmer, Parks or Zagata in person at SNDCLT or you may e-mail Rukan directly.

See you bright and early Friday morning.

Josh Crutchmer
SND print competition committee chair