(12 entries)

Judge: Brian Austin, Creative Director, Knowledge Industry Publications
Austin has more than 20 years experience in art direction and production. Previous positions include art director at Cherry Lane Publications and Guitar magazine as well as stints at The New York Times Magazine Group and at several independent graphics companies.

First Place
JO ANNE IZUMI
The Arizona Republic
"Exploring the Ocean's Edge"
"This piece is the clear overall winner in this category. This is a very pleasing composition which ties the type layout together strongly. The quality of the artwork is very high, with great use of colors and shadows. The seagull breaking the headline and overlapping the section name leads the eye to a lyrical flow of shapes in the main illustration.
The curved nature of the illustration carries the reader's attention effortlessly through all of the text. The captions not only encircle the art but also drop down the middle in a well planned use of negative space. The maps, sidebars and shaded tones nicely frame and complete the layout. This is a very well planned and executed piece which presents the editorial message strongly."

Second place
SCOTT KIRCHHOFER
The Tribune
"Exploring The Red Planet"
"This piece is a very pleasing design which conveys a great deal of information in a visual way. The step-by-step action sequence across the top leads very nicely into the circular zoom views. There is a pleasing interplay between the circular shapes and nice use of photographic elements. The copy is somewhat minimal and allows the pictures to tell much of the story. A beautiful collaboration between editorial and design."

Third place
SCOTT KIRCHHOFER
The Tribune
"Tempe's Town Lake"
"This is a wonderful piece which portrays a lot of complicated information in ways that could not be effectivly done in another fashion. The drawing is very educational and the close-up view explains the whole process. The arrangements of the shapes have a good sense of action. Of particular note are the artistic way the flowing water changes as it crests the dam and the graphic showing the inflation of the dam. The icons across the bottom are beautifully done."