World's Best-Designed

Society of News Design's 30th Annual "The Best of Newspaper Design Creative Competition" relied on five judges from newspapers industries all over the world who sifted through 301 entries and named five newspapers the winners. All five were international papers, four from Europe and one from Mexico.

Akzia, a biweekly with a circulation of 200,000 in Moscow, Russia

Eleftheros Tipos, a daily with a circulation of 86,000 in Athens, Greece

Expresso, a weekly with a circulation of 120,000 in Paço de Arcos, Portugal

The News, a daily with a circulation of 10,000 in Mexico City, Mexico

Welt am Sonntag, a weekly with a circulation of 400,000 in Berlin, Germany

The judges chose these newspapers based on many characteristics, but one that stood above the rest was accessibility of the paper to readers. Good journalism is always key, but integrating the writing, photography, graphics and design is a task that not all contestants demonstrated.

The trend in newspapers layouts the U.S. has shifted from broadsheets to "broad-loid," which is a narrower form of the broadsheet. However, papers around the world have turned their broadsheets into compact papers, also known as a tabloid. Judges of the competition claim that the tabloid style is logical and also attracts younger readers.

The compact size of the winning newspapers create a modernistic approach to the age-old newspaper. What once used to be associated with style magazines is now the new magazine newspaper, pairing news and views together.

Judges also shared that although many American newspapers entered the contest, they were not chosen as winners because of the lack of risks taken regarding design and details. In the past year, US papers had lots of opportunities to play with graphics, photos and text, especially with the election.

After browsing through the layouts of the winners, I found the differences between the winners and the papers I usually read, including the Tribune, the New York Times and the occasional Wall Street Journal, to change the way I view newspapers. I pay more close attention to the use of graphics and photographs, assessing how they really accompany a story. Also, the winners' layouts use air, or white space, to their advantage. This is a refreshing take on the papers I read where instead of using this white space, text is spread out over any and all the little space that may be available.