Society for News Design
The Society for News Design (SND) is an international organization for professionals working in the news sector of the media industry, specifically those involved with graphic design, illustration, web design and infographics.
Founded in 1979, it is a United States-registered non-profit organization with about 1,000 members worldwide. Among other activities, it runs an annual Best of News Design competition open to newspapers from around the world at Syracuse University every February, an updated Best of Digital Design international competition at Ball State University, and a yearly conference (rotating through various cities) that brings in visual journalists from all over the world.
SND also has a number of offshoot organizations, including student chapters (the largest including those at Ohio University, Michigan State University, the University of Missouri and Syracuse University) and international chapters.
Leadership
Officers serve a one-year term and are selected by election of the SND membership. While the positions are decided on by election, historically most positions are held by prior position holders in a hierarchical style, in this way officers have generally progressed up a leadership ladder through other areas on the board of directors.
2014 leadership:
- President: Lee Steele, Design Editor, Hearst Connecticut Newspapers
- Vice President: Sara Quinn, Sara Quinn Media and Kansas State University
- Secretary/treasurer: Douglas Okasaki, Gulf News
- Executive director: Stephen Komives, Society for News Design
- Immediate Past President: David Kordalski, AME Visuals, The Plain Dealer
- Past Presidents of the Society
Publications
The organization publishes a number of publications throughout the year:
- A yearly full-color book featuring images of the winners of the Best of Newspaper Design competition
- Design Magazine, a biannual full-color magazine notable for changing its typography with every issue and focusing on the latest news design trends
- SND Update, a web-based "newsletter" that tends to focus more on breaking industry news and organization-related events.
- Área-11, the digital newsletter in Spanish for México, Central & South America (R-11 & 12).
Events
SND holds a number of regional and international events, with the purpose of educating and allowing opportunities for members to network. The Society for News Design's annual fall workshop rotates through various cities around the world. Although generally in the United States, the workshop has visited locations in Canada, Puerto Rico, Denmark and Spain and Argentina (2009). The weekend-long event features a number of guest speakers on a variety of topics along with critiques, an auction and an awards dinner.
SND Orlando 2006 hosted the "The Intern" competition. Ten students were chosen from a pool of applicants to compete for internships at The San Jose Mercury News, The Orlando Sentinel, and The Arizona Republic. The students competed for a week and attended the conference, where the winners were announced.
Throughout the year, SND members put on a number of one-to-two-day educational quick courses held throughout the world and designed to focus on a specific visual journalism topic.
In 8 and 9 November 2012, Society for News Design- Middle East and Africa organized the "FIRST MIDDLE EAST NEWS DESIGN CONFERENCE" in Beirut, organized by An Nahar newspaper and SND.
External links
Official sites
- snd.org - Official Web site
Related sites
- Today's Front Pages - An updated-daily repository of newspaper front pages by Newseum, a newspaper museum in Washington, D.C.
- Society of Publication Designers - A similar professional organization, focusing on magazines and other publications
- Sharethoughts with tksajeev-A newspaperdesign blog
- News design conferences and workshop in Middle East and Africa