We’ve made some important changes over the last two years to transform the kinds of training SND offers.

We put out a survey to ask you what kinds of training you were looking for.

We launched two-day, hands-on, computer lab courses to teach real skills that could be immediately put to work. Among the topics:

• Editing video and audio

• Using Photoshop and Illustrator tools like the pros

• Writing, editing and designing alternative story forms

• Constructing 3-D graphics in Lightwave

This year we added a Web Design Boot Camp to help print designers translate their skills through HTML and CSS. The second one is scheduled for July 11-12 in Las Vegas. It’s not too late to sign up!

We also created a $50 day-long Quick Course in Orlando on April 17 that featured some of the major innovations happening at news organizations today. We are planning another low-cost event at Michigan State University in East Lansing this October.

And we started the free meet-ups that took place in Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago — with several more to come this year, including one in San Francisco on July 18.

Now we have some more ideas, and we’d like to get your input.

Live chats: We are going to schedule several live chats on topics that are at the top of our collective agendas such as changing careers, building Web audience, using social media to extend brand and audience, the role of video on news Web sites, etc. If you have ideas for topics or featured guests on these chats, please comment below or send me an e-mail. We’d love to have your ideas.

BarCamp: BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants. These usually take place at bars and can feature a variety of topics, many relating to the digital landscape. We are interested in organizing or joining some of these events. Are you involved with this group? Do you have a topic you’d like to present or one you’d like to hear more about in this kind of setting? Let us know.

Ignite: Ignite is a style of presentation where participants are given five minutes to speak on a subject accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for 15 seconds, and slides are automatically advanced. We are interested in organizing or joining some of these events. Are you involved with this group? Let us know.

Other organizations and events: We’re interested in partnering with other groups out there, either by adding some programming to one of their events, or by co-sponsoring an event. Who should we be talking to? What events should we be looking at?

Online tutorials: We would like to create a series of short skills-based videos for members using screencasting software. Is there a specific skill, effect, tool, script you want to know more about? Or something that you can share with our members? Please let me know if you’d like to participate.

Meet-ups: We want to encourage as many of these casual events as possible. A meet-up can be as simple as inviting a group of people to share drinks at a local pub or as ambitious as scheduling one or more speakers at an auditorium. The only requirements are that it should be free and open to anyone, reach out to a broad spectrum of people (Web developers, print and digital designers, artists, photographers, students, etc.) and help SND extend its message. All we ask is that you let us know when and where it will be so that we can help you promote it — we might even be able to supply limited free swag! If you need help getting something like this off the ground, send me an e-mail.

Thoughts? We want to hear from you. Please comment below this story or send your thoughts to the e-mail address below.

Thanks for your help and stay tuned!

Denise M. Reagan

Education & Training director

denisereagan@mac.com

Sessions explore design, photography, information graphics, typography, illustration and more. World’s Best-Designed Newspapers™ will be on display. Speakers include Mark Porter, Wolfgang Beinert, Wolfgang Ammer, Andrew Timmins, Daniel Becker and Mauricio Gambarini.

Visual students worldwide were invited to apply for the grants and applications were received from 25 in the United States and 70 in South America. The students selected for grants have demonstrated leadership in visual journalism. Most are involved in student publications and in SND student-affiliate activities, and have secured internships, part-time jobs and other professional work.

SND Foundation President Susan Mango Curtis, assistant professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, said, “This is not just a grant but an opportunity to invest in our future as an organization. These 18 young, creative minds may very well one day lead our industry and transform visual journalism and how media companies deliver the news.”

All winners receive free registrations to the professional Annual Workshop program. North American students also receive $500 for travel. The travel grant winners will assist other SND volunteers in running the Annual Workshop, hosted this year by Clarín and organized by Art Director Gustavo Lo Valvo.

This year’s travel grant winners are:

• Cristián Bego, Universidad del Desarrollo, Concepción, Chile

• Ángeles Briones, Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

• Alejandro Bruna, Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

• Andreina Fernandes, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela

• Lionel Fernández Roca, Universidad de Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Aderlani Furlanetto, Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil

• Valentina Gangotena, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador

• Federico Gómez, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Adam Griffiths, Kent State University, Ohio

• Gabriela Lorenz, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• María Luján, Universidad de Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Militza Moya, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile

• Katherine Myrick, Indiana University, Bloomington

• Aaron Olson, Michigan State University, East Lansing

• Jennifer Schutterra, Ohio University, Athens

• Sergio Silva, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador

• Sahar Vahidi, Syracuse University, N.Y.

• Andrea Zagata, Michigan State.

Applications were reviewed by three SNDF trustees: Cristóbal Edwards, professor of visual journalism at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago; SND U.S. Education Director Jennifer George-Palilonis, assistant professor in the department of journalism at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.; and SND Diversity Director Javier Torres, AME presentation at The News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla.

The Society for News Design Foundation, created in 1992, is the nonprofit education and research effort of the Society for News Design. To learn more, visit http://www.snd.org/about/found.html, or contact SND, 1130 Ten Rod Road, E 206, North Kingstown, RI 02852; (401) 294-5233; snd@snd.org.

Susan Mango Curtis, an assistant professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and an SND past president, has been appointed president of SND’s Foundation, filling the vacancy created by Bill Gaspard’s resignation last week. Curtis will serve through the remainder of Gaspard’s term, Dec. 31, 2009.

The Foundation is SND’s nonprofit education and research arm. With support from donations and matching grants, the Foundation provides training grants for out-of-work visual journalists, university-level scholarships, travel grants for students to the Annual Workshop & Exhibition, grants to the student designers of the year, and outreach to minority journalists and journalism students at universities with large minority enrollments. The Foundation also provides research grants for projects on the future of journalism developed in partnership with other journalism organizations.

Curtis is an educator, designer and consultant. Before coming to Medill, she worked as an assistant managing editor for the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal, where in 1991 she spearheaded a complete redesign and won multiple SND awards. Three years later, she was part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize gold medal for a series titled “The Question of Color.” In 1996 she received the Garth C. Reeve chair in journalism and took a sabbatical to teach visual journalism at Florida A&M University.

Prior to joining the Beacon Journal staff, Curtis was a designer at the Journal newspapers in suburban Washington, D.C. She also has worked as an artist for the Washington Post Sunday magazine and as art director for the National Rifle Association. Curtis operates a design consulting business that caters to publications and organizations both in the United States and abroad.

She was SND President in 2004 and has been the adviser of Medill’s SND student chapter for 12 years. She has also chaired the visual task force for NABJ’s annual workshop and Unity convention.

Jonathon Berlin, design director at the Chicago Tribune and editor of SND’s Design magazine, has been appointed Publications Director, filling the vacancy created by Tyson Evans’ resignation last week. Berlin will serve through the remainder of Evans’ term, Dec. 31, 2009.

Berlin says his top priorities are getting a regular HTML newsletter up and running; coordinating a steady flow of SND business content and thought-leading material at snd.org; wrapping up the next edition of Design magazine for publication in the next three months; and working to get more member voices in the mix.

At the Tribune, Berlin supervises the graphic artists and is responsible for the general look and feel of the paper. He helped lead the team of editors and designers behind September’s award-winning redesign.

Prior to joining the Tribune, he was the senior editor for design and graphics at the San Jose Mercury News, leading the paper’s design and graphics departments to a record number of SND awards. He also worked in a previous stint as A1 and special projects designer for the paper during the year it won “World’s Best-Designed Newspaper™” distinction from SND. Berlin also has worked as assistant design director at the Rocky Mountain News; as a graphics editor and features designer at the Times of Northwest Indiana; and as design director for YourHub.com.

Have you ever wanted to become more active in SND? Have you ever wanted to increase your contacts with visual journalists, and learn more about design trends globally? Have you ever wondered how to organize a Quick Course or meetup in your area?

SND is now seeking enthusiastic visual journalists to assist with SND activities in three regions:

• Region 2 — East Coast Metro Region Delaware, DC, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia (vacated by the resignation of Regional Director Jon Wile last week, term runs through 2010)

• Region 6 -– Plains Region Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. (vacant since 2008, term runs through 2010)

• Region 11— Mexico–Central America–Caribbean Region (vacant since 2008, term runs through 2009)

If you are interested in volunteering to help SND, please contact SND Vice President Bonita Burton, bburton@orlandosentinel.com.

Don’t forget about the Society’s upcoming events, which include:

• Signing up on July 1, 2009, to serve as a facilitator at the judging for the 31st Best of Newspaper Design Creative Competition, Feb. 5-9, 2010, at the University of Syracuse. Link.

• Submitting April-June entries by July 7, 2009, for the Best of Multimedia Design Competition.

• Registering for the Web Design Boot Camp, July 11-12 in Las Vegas.

• Registering for the FREE San Francisco Meetup, July 18, 2009.

• Registering for SND Buenos Aires, Sept. 24-26, 2009.

Registration: Even though this is a free event, we you ask that you register on Facebook. (Adobe requires a guest list to enter their facility.) If you do not have a Facebook account, just e-mail me at pai@mercurynews.com.

Here’s how the really cool day is shaping up …

JUST ADDED: Visualizing data

Stamen Design will reveal their design process, database schemas and API’s to extend the boundaries of online media and live information visualization. Check out their work at: http://www.stamendesign.com

First up … News flash from the future: What will journalism look like?

Design and innovation powerhouse IDEO has sketched out 14 scenarios for the future of news. From newsroom cafés to new interactive solutions to sharing information, the future has never looked so bright for newsgathering. Alex Grishaver, design director at IDEO, will present and explain their ideas. Grishaver specializes in systemic design and interactive media, and has led IDEO projects for HBO, Tokyo Metro and numerous other media and technology businesses.

IDEO is one of the premiere design firms in the world. They specialize in developing design and behavioral solutions for many Fortune 500 companies and government organizations. Among its many achievements are developing Apple’s first mouse, the Leap chair for Steelcase and finding new methods of combating childhood obesity for the Centers for Disease Control. Fast Company magazine ranked IDEO fifth in its top 50 Most Innovative Companies list.

And then … New paths for news: Experiments in innovation

Matt Mansfield hosts a conversation with Susan Mernit and Chris O’Brien about where social media, distribution channels and the challenges of presentation are heading.

Mernit is a co-founder of Pink Garage, a new online community and resource for women entrepreneurs, and a product development, business strategy and social media consultant who recently ran the 2008-09 Knight News Challenge, awarding $5 million to support innovative local projects that expand online news and community discourse.

And O’Brien is the technology columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, as well as the founder of the Next Newsroom project, which was also funded with a Knight grant.

Mansfield is an associate professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and the co-director of its Washington graduate program. He’s also past president of the Society for News Design and a former deputy managing editor of the San Jose Mercury News.

Plus you should think about … Making the leap into multimedia

From capturing photos on film to taking digital snapshots then ultimately entering the world of video and multimedia, Emmy Award winner Geri Migielicz has navigated through the massive changes in photojournalism. Geri will relate those experiences and give advice on making that transition to new media.

Geri was director of photography at the San Jose Mercury News from 1993 to 2009. Under her direction, her department garnered all major national awards for photo editing and photo usage, making the paper a destination for the leading talent in the photojournalism industry. She reported to Mansfield in San Jose and they remain close friends. They both believe in the power of visual storytelling.

Most recently, Geri was executive producer on an Emmy Award-winning Web documentary, and she directed coverage that won a 1990 Pulitzer Prize in general news reporting and a 2003 Pulitzer finalist in feature photography. Geri was a 2004-5 Knight Fellow at Stanford University, where she studied multimedia narratives. She now runs Story4, a multimedia production company.

Meanwhile, let’s have a laugh (or several) … Funny stuff with Don Asmussen

Meet the man behind the Lies behind the Truth, and the Truth behind those Lies that are behind the Truth. San Francisco Chronicle’s Bad Reporter has been skewering the headlines and providing many laughs for years now. Witness his unique take on the world.

Special thanks to Adobe for co-sponsoring this event!

You have heard a lot of information tossed out during the last few days on how your elected officers and appointed board have handled two significant issues that collided: a search for a new executive director and a possible move of the Society’s offices to a university campus.

You have also heard that some members of the board believe I was not as forthcoming as I should have been. I have already apologized to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for not letting them know of a change in direction. In my zeal to try to accomplish a lot, I moved too fast and was caught in the crossfire of several people who have differing versions of essentially the same story. I regret those decisions and am on record as saying it was an error in judgment.

In an effort to put this all to rest and end the acrimony on the board, I agreed to the timeline. As with so many things like this, there are many more details and mitigating factors, a litany of people with opinions on the correct course of action and some who put pressure on me in ways too odd to imagine. They aren’t worth discussing much anymore.

I know that, as long as I have been a volunteer for SND, I have been working for the good of this organization’s members. I hope you all will continue to be SND members and do what’s right to help the Society move forward.

My advice for SND:

• Clarify and communicate what SND does: A lot of people need to know what SND stands for and how they can help. We have seen an outpouring of people out there who want to be engaged. The Society’s leaders have to let members define what the organization will be and that probably includes reaching out to find new people who would see themselves in SND if given the chance to shape that definition — and to extend it beyond the scope of its history.

• Stop the turf wars on the board: They are not helping anything. Talk to each other and come to amicable solutions. The energy devoted to a mess like this has exhausted too many of us at a time when we should be working hard to confront the challenges of the industry.

• Communicate, communicate, communicate: My other big mistake was not telling everyone everything I knew up front. I feared this would close the door for something good for SND at UNC and that weighed heavily in my decision to step down. I also listened to Bonita Burton, the vice president, when she implored me and Steve Dorsey, the secretary/treasurer, not to be more open in communications after I resigned. Bonita was adamant that our FAQ and live chat focus on the future, which is the right step forward. What we failed to see was that we had to talk enough about the past to give that future context.

• Look ahead and be transparent: The Society, obviously, needs to get better at posting minutes, being more open about what’s going on, and generally keeping members clued in more. A flood of information would be a good thing, in my opinion. And that has to extend to a full and frank discussion of SND’s financial health. SND had a loss of about $29,000 last year, and the gap is bigger so far this year. The only way SND stays afloat is by dipping into its reserve accounts and investments.

• Look outward for success stories: Find the other organizations out there that are doing smart things. Then steal like crazy. There’s so much to learn by stepping outside of your usual way of thinking. And find some new revenue streams in that process. SND’s three main source of income are member dues, which are in trouble as fewer and fewer people have the money to spend, the annual print competition, which saw far fewer entries this year, and the annual workshop. For sustainable growth, new models are needed.

• Hire a new executive director who has experience fund raising; bonus points, if that person has digital skills: Robb Montgomery wrote about this today on his site. I agree with his assessment, so here it is: “Raising money is the main function of any non-profit’s paid boss and staff. Fund raising takes the pressure off of members having to support all initiatives that cost money. This exec doesn’t need to be a digerati to lead in this area. BUT they do need to know and adopt the best practices of other non-profits that have had great success in using social media. This Harvard Business article “Why Non-Profits Are So Good at Social Media” details this issue wonderfully.”

• Invite new people into the process: SND’s in bad need of new blood. There’s been a lot of work done this year on that front with the meetups, but there’s much more to do. Being welcoming cannot just be talk. It has to be action. So dispel the elitist perception (because, as Damon Cain says, perception is reality) and be genuine in active participation in SND.

• Do more pioneering programming than ever: Members want and need SND’s help, so find ways to do meaningful training. That has to include online training modules and other forms of distance learning. SND lags badly behind here. Poynter does a great job with NewsU. Partner with them. Look for other partners. Seek out what members find valuable and then deliver in ways that make it easy for training.

• Keep growing internationally: The growth of news design globally, and the insights gained from sharing all that we all know, are another way of being open and transparent. The Society’s amazing affiliates around the world are helping chart exciting new innovations. North Americans who don’t take note do this at their own peril.

Thanks again for electing me and giving me the opportunity to help set an agenda. When I announced I was stepping down, I cited some things that are worth repeating as hallmarks of how SND has been pressing ahead this year.

• Be industry leaders: The Revenue 2.0 project identified strategies for funding journalism as we put design thinking to work by demonstrating new revenue models for news companies while considering audience as never before. The work we began was just carried forward in another major report and has been noted widely in the press. My hope is that the Society will continue this kind of thought leadership because it’s needed now more than ever.

• Change with the times: Training and development for members, especially those who must quickly gain digital skills, has also been at the forefront this year. We have offered successful Web design boot camps, multimedia training, and courses on alternative storytelling forms. More are planned for the coming months.

• Connect, connect, connect: A series of meetups have helped members (and non members) in New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. forge new relationships and talk about our expansive craft. The local initiatives have been amazing. More are planned this year, with the next one this summer in San Francisco. This free training, at a time when so many members (as well as their news organizations) cannot afford tuition, has been a hallmark of how we hoped to see outreach working for the Society. Talented professionals have been generously giving their time in these efforts: I cannot thank Nigel Holmes, Joe Hutchinson, Roger Black, Sarah Slobin, Matthew Ericson, Shan Carter, Cyrus Highsmith, Tyson Evans, Jon Wile, Adrian Holovaty, Jim Coudal, Bill Adee, Tracy Schmidt, Daniel Honigman, Chris Courtney and Jonathon Berlin enough for their assistance in lifting these from idea to reality.

• See the whole world of news design: This fall, the Society will host its first international workshop of the decade: SND’s annual gathering will be in Buenos Aires and I have every confidence it will be a wonderful event. Tireless organizers Gustavo Lo Valvo and Chris Edwards have spanned the world to plan a program squarely aimed at confronting the biggest issues facing visual journalism, with an eye on how that global exchange of ideas has relevance for innovation. It’s a summit especially essential for our time.

Finally, I have been overwhelmed by how many of you in recent days have asked me to stay on. I am convinced that walking away remains the best course of action. But you have proven to me what I had lost sight of in the recent distractions: SND members are the best sounding board out there. We should have talked this out sooner and moved on faster.

Thank you again for electing me. Please help SND thrive.

Matt Mansfield

1. On April 17, SND’s president, in agreement with the executive committee, decided not to renew the contract of executive director Elise Burroughs. The director was not removed for cause. The president and the majority of the executive committee decided it was time for a new direction in one of SND’s two paid positions. (The issue of whether or not to extend the executive director’s contract is a personnel matter that cannot be discussed outside SND’s executive committee. This is language that is stated in the executive director’s contract.)

2. At the April 19 board meeting, Don Wittekind, a member of the executive committee and professor the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, presented SND with an offer to move the SND headquarters to their campus with a wide array of financial and strategic benefits.

These two issues became entangled when the parties at UNC, including two SND board members, became uneasy with the timing of the executive director search and potential move to UNC. Wittekind the first learned of the executive director search at the April 17 meeting. On April 18, he suggested to the president holding off on the UNC proposal until an executive director had been seated. Mansfield gave a verbal assurance to Wittekind and fellow UNC professor Laura Ruel that the existing executive director’s contract would be extended so the deal could go forward immediately.

On May 7, Mansfield had a phone call with the executive committee about whether the executive director search should go forward (Vice President Burton was unable to dial in) and they agreed that it should.

On May 8, Burroughs, Burton and Treasurer/Secretary Steve Dorsey toured the campus and reported back to the board. While touring the campus, Burroughs asked Burton if a decision had been made on her contract. Burton, who said she had been told by Mansfield that both Burroughs and UNC had been apprised of the decision to search for a new executive director, referred the question to the president.

On May 11, during the discussion on the UNC vote, a regional director raised the question of office staffing. In response, Mansfield sent a note to the board saying that the issue of office staffing, including the contract of the executive director, had not been resolved. He invited the board members to a phone call to discuss the issue. No one asked for the group call.

Later that week, the board unanimously approved the UNC proposal.

While the contract between UNC and SND was being written, the decision to move ahead on a new executive director was not disclosed to UNC, despite Wittekind’s position that the university would not enter into a six-year contract without an executive director in place. Mansfield acknowledges he should have told UNC immediately of the reversal.

On May 15, Burton submitted an executive director job description to the officers.

Wittekind learned of the change in direction in a thank-you note from Burroughs that mentioned the status of her contract was uncertain. In follow-up conversations with Mansfield and Burroughs, Wittekind and Ruel received conflicting accounts about the timing of the executive director decision. Burroughs asked for a call with Mansfield to resolve whether he was going to renew her contract or not.

On May 20, the executive committee met by phone to discuss the conversation Burroughs and Mansfield was to have the following day. The timing of the two announcements were discussed, and it was decided that the executive director search would not be publicly discussed until the deal with UNC was announced.

On May 21, Mansfield and Burton informed Burroughs that there would be no future negotiations for her contract beyond Dec. 31, and they discussed preliminary details of the search.

On May 26, Past President Gayle Grin learned in an unrelated conversation with Ruel that the school had not been told of the change in direction on the executive director until the day before. She apologized, telling Ruel that Matt had asked her to keep that information from them until the headquarters move was announced. That same day Mansfield sent a message to the executive committee saying he believed the UNC deal was in jeopardy.

On May 29, UNC sent an email to Mansfield raising concerns that his statements did not match up with those of other board members. He responded with an apology for the turmoil and expressed his desire to move forward with the deal. Later that day the board received a memo signed by UNC Dean Jean Folkerts stating that the offer had been suspended, citing a breach of trust. The memo asked the board to address this issue before resuming negotiations.

On June 1, Regional Directors Jeff Goertzen and Gordon Preece sent an e-mail calling for the president’s resignation, citing SND’s code of ethics. A slew of e-mails and phone calls went back and forth as board members debated whether Mansfield’s resignation would be the best course of action for the society.

On June 3, Burton called Wittekind to discuss the situation. She then confronted Mansfield with concerns he had been untruthful with her, deceived UNC and unduly strung Burroughs along. She stated that the professional relationship with UNC had been severely impaired; that the UNC professors who run SND’s multimedia programming were questioning their ability to remain on the board; that the 2010 workshop could be at risk and that his relationship with Burroughs had disintegrated to an unacceptable level. When asked her opinion on the call for his resignation, Burton said that if the matter came to a board vote, she did not believe Mansfield would have the votes. They weighed the impact of both outcomes to the society and Burton encouraged Mansfield to strongly consider stepping down.

On June 4, at Burton’s and Grin’s urging, Mansfield contacted Wittekind to set up a phone call to apologize. Grin also encouraged a heartfelt apology to all involved and asked that her signature be removed from executive committee emails affirming unwavering support for Mansfield. Mansfield, after speaking with Wittekind who also urged him to step down, sent his resignation to the board, effective June 18. Six board members sent e-mails promising their resignations if the president was not persuaded to return to office: Steve Dorsey, treasurer/secretary; Bill Gaspard, foundation president; Tyson Evans, publications director; Denise Reagan, education & training director; Jon Wile, regional director; Melissa Angle, regional director. Several more suggested Mansfield not step down while others maintained his resignation should stand. After a board call to discuss the matter, a motion came forward asking Matt to reconsider, and affirming the board’s support for his leadership. A vote on the motion was set for June 13.

On June 11, Mansfield and the officers discussed the implications of his resignation in a phone call with 13 past presidents.

On June 12, the day before the board was to vote on the motion of support, Matt reaffirmed his decision to resign, citing a desire to put the matter to rest.

On June 16, Foundation President (and past president) Bill Gaspard, Publications Director Tyson Evans, and East Coast Metro Regional Director Jon Wile resigned from the board. The three board members were among those who’d said earlier they would resign if the discussion ended in Matt’s departure from the board.

On June 18, Mansfield sent a letter to UNC taking full responsibility and asking the university to consider reopening negotiations with SND further down the line.

All, as we were preparing the statement to be posted here, it was prematurely released yesterday as it was still being edited. It’s difficult to derive a group statement from any large group as you can imagine. We’re also trying very hard to react in near-real time to a topic we all consider very important. Thanks for your patience.

Q: What does that mean for SND, and where do we go from here?
A: The Society for News Design, the largest and most dynamic journalism organization representing visual journalists, has been around for more than 30 years. With the leadership of our 22 founders in 1979, through 29 presidents and many executive directors, SND has weathered the triumphs and struggles of the industry, and come through even stronger. We will continue in that tradition as we work through this latest challenge.

Q: Matt laid down some pretty ambitious goals in his six months as president. Will they continue?
A: Absolutely. SND continues to be focused on providing members the skills and opportunities to invent their own futures. We continue to provide expert training for both print and digital designers; host networking opportunities from regional meetups to the fall workshop in Buenos Aires; support the academic efforts of students and educators; increase our international outreach; create a roadmap for the future of the media business and recognize our industry’s standard-bearers through our prestigious competitions.

Q: What happens next with the office of president?
A: Our bylaws, which were adopted more than 25 years ago, are not as specific on that point. Nevertheless, here’s what they say:

“It shall be the duty of the Vice President, in the absence or inability of the President to act, to exercise all the powers and discharge all the duties of the President.” (Article VII, Section 4)

So yes, according to our bylaws, in the event of the president leaving office, the vice president, in this case, Bonita Burton, will discharge all the duties of the president for the remainder of the term, which ends on Dec. 31. She will become president on Jan. 1 if she is elected by the membership during the regular fall election

Q: How is a new president elected, and who is in charge of selecting the candidates?
A: The ballot will be distributed at least three weeks before the Sept. 24 workshop in Buenos Aires. Members can vote online, by mail, or onsite at the workshop. According to our bylaws, candidates for elected office are recommended by a nominating committee led by the immediate past president, currently Gayle Grin.

Q: How does the search for a new executive director factor in?
A: Elise Burroughs has had an significant impact on SND, and she leaves big shoes to fill. Elise’s contract runs through Dec. 31, 2009. As you know, the executive director is responsible for both the long-term and day-to-day management of the Society, and this person plays an influential role in charting our long-term strategies. Earlier this year, the president asked the vice president to organize and lead a search committee, and we’ve begun the process of identifying candidates. If the timeline unfolds as planned, the board will have appointed a new executive director in time to ensure a smooth transition before Elise’s contract runs out.

Q: What about the the workshop or any other planned activities?
A: All scheduled events will go forward as planned. Next up: A Region 8 meetup in San Francisco and a Web Design Boot Camp in Las VegasVegas, both scheduled for July 11. The Buenos Aires workshop on Sept. 24 is an impressive lineup of international all-stars, and will feature a keynote address by the renowned Nigel Holmes.

Q: What’s being done between now and the fall election to ensure a smooth transition?
A: The officers are in close communication with each other and the board of directors to identify key steps. An advisory panel of 20 past presidents of SND has been asked to advise and offer their wisdom during the transition. You may have received their first email from founder and former president Richard Curtis earlier this week. The other presidents who are helping out include:

* Phil Ritzenberg
* Richard Curtis
* Marty Petty
* Phil Nesbitt
* Tony Majeri
* Rob Covey
* Nanette Bisher
* Randy Stano
* Deborah Withey
* Jim Jennings
* Neal Pattison
* Ed Kohorst
* Svenake Bostrom
* Lucie Lacava
* Warren Watson
* Susan Mango-Curtis
* Bill Gaspard
* Christine McNeal
* Scott Goldman
* Gayle Grin

Q: What else is being done?
A: Task forces are being formed to focus updating of our bylaws and other key issues, and we’re hoping for high member participation (let us know if you want to be on one of the committees). Task force chairs will report back during a summer summit of the board on July 11 in Orlando. We should have a lot of progress to report before the fall board meeting in Buenos Aires.

Q: How does SND plan to spend its resources to respond to the changing nature of the business?
A: Discussions at SND board meetings and among our members of the society mirror those taking place in newsrooms around the world. Our program chairs are constantly recalibrating our training, our competition focus, our educational efforts to reflect industry shifts.

Q: What is SND doing to communicate with members through this transition? How can members get involved?
A: Check the Update blog for for progress reports on the leadership transition and information about all SND activities. Send thoughts or questions directly to Vice President Bonita Burton bburton@orlandosentinel.com or Treasurer/Secretary Steve Dorsey at stevedorsey@gmail.com

In the phone conference, we fully acknowledged Matt’s worth to the Society and his many and valuable contributions over many years. We tried to dissuade him from resigning, but he was steadfast.

Where does that leave the Society, and more important, what does it mean to you, as a dues-paying member?

One, the Society is more than one person. Let’s remember that the Society is made up of true believers, or as Mario Garcia put it, “fools with enthusiasm.” That spirit cannot be dampened. This is just a temporary, albeit serious, setback to an organization that is essential to the future of journalism.

Two, know that the Society and its programs will continue. The Buenos Aires workshop will take place this September; the design contest in 2010 and its subsequent awards book will continue; Design magazine will be published as will SND Update; and regional workshops and Quick Courses will continue as scheduled.

Three, since this resignation caught everyone by surprise, in the coming weeks and months the remaining officers and board members will take whatever steps necessary and appropriate to address this challenge. You may be called on to volunteer; if so, we hope you’ll step up to the plate and take your strongest swing.

Current Vice-President Bonita Burton, now presumed president, has asked the past presidents to act as an advisory group to her and the board as she and others plot the Society’s immediate and long-term strategy; the past presidents have agreed. That’s a lot of firepower to bring to bear on whatever challenges she might face. Bonita and SND have our full support.

We hope you, too, will continue to support your Society through these rough times and to contribute in any way possible.

Thank you.

Richard Curtis
An SND founder and past president, 1982-’83

I’m resigning as president of the Society for News Design.

It’s not a choice I make lightly, especially because I was elected by you to serve your interests in this organization — and because I love SND.

But it’s recently become clear to me that I should move on because of an internal dispute on the Society’s board — and so that I can spend time focusing on my new career as a university professor. I trust that, in all my actions on behalf of members, I have done what’s best for SND.

I’d never want to be a distraction for the Society’s board, though, so I’ve decided to step aside. We’re working through transition issues now and I expect to exit on June 18.

The Society’s vice president, Bonita Burton of the Orlando Sentinel, will discharge the duties of the president for the remainder of my term, which was to end on Dec. 31.

Bonita, however, will not be your president until she’s elected. Only members can choose the president, according to our bylaws, so Bonita will stand for election this fall so you can make your choice on how to proceed.

When the other officers and I started the year we had an ambitious vision for how the Society could help members, as well as the troubled news industry, by confronting the issues of how our craft and design thinking could be part of the solution for steps forward.

We have made major strides:

• The Revenue 2.0 project identified strategies for funding journalism as we put design thinking to work by demonstrating new revenue models for news companies while considering audience as never before. The work we began was just carried forward in another major report and has been noted widely in the press. My hope is that the Society will continue this kind of thought leadership because it’s needed now more than ever.

• Training and development for members, especially those who must quickly gain digital skills, has also been at the forefront this year. We have offered successful Web design boot camps, multimedia training, and courses on alternative storytelling forms. More are planned for the coming months.

• A series of meetups have helped members connect in New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. More are planned this year, with the next one this summer in San Francisco. This free training, at a time when so many members (as well as their news organizations) cannot afford tuition, has been a hallmark of how we hoped to see outreach working for the Society. Talented professionals have been generously giving their time in these efforts: I cannot thank Nigel Holmes, Joe Hutchinson, Roger Black, Sarah Slobin, Matthew Ericson, Shan Carter, Cyrus Highsmith, Tyson Evans, Jon Wile, Adrian Holovaty, Jim Coudal, Bill Adee, Tracy Schmidt, Daniel Honigman, Chris Courtney and Jonathon Berlin enough for their assistance in lifting these from idea to reality.

• This fall, the Society will host its first international workshop of the decade: SND’s annual gathering will be in Buenos Aires and I have every confidence it will be a wonderful event. Tireless organizers Gustavo Lo Valvo and Chris Edwards have spanned the world to plan a program squarely aimed at confronting the biggest issues facing visual journalism, with an eye on how that global exchange of ideas has relevance for innovation. It’s a summit especially essential for our time.

• Finally, the push ahead by the Society in identifying new leadership for the future remains on track. The Society recently announced it will seek a new executive director. That new leader will help the Society’s elected officers and board of directors chart the course for the future. Please share your ideas with the remaining elected officers on the skills that new director will need to help SND pioneer at this pivotal point for rethinking how journalism, as well as journalism organizations, should work.

With all that started, I have every hope that the Society has a bright future. There’s much more work to be done, of course, and I trust that the volunteer spirit that has made SND one of the world’s leading voices for news design will continue. I’m certain this smart membership would not have it any other way.

The other officers and I have been in contact with the Society’s past presidents, who have pledged to help SND move forward as needed.

Thank you all very much for the opportunity to work with you. It’s been my pleasure.

The Society is an international nonprofit membership organization of visual journalists in more than 50 countries. When Burroughs arrived in 2004, the Board of Directors had an ambitious agenda for change. During the last five years, the Society accomplished many of those objectives. They included:

• revamping the Web site to better publicize SND activities
• adopting a Mission Statement, a Code of Ethical Standards and a Conflict of Interest Policy
• establishing two new overseas affiliates
• forming new partnerships with other journalism organizations
• expanding visual journalism training outside the United States
• increasing international participation in SND activities
• having officers assume more financial oversight, with regular review of financial statements
• creating policies for board procedures that made board meetings more efficient and productive
• adopting a formal strategic plan
• securing a $15,000 Challenge Grant for the SND Foundation.

Burroughs said, “Working with incredibly dedicated SND volunteers, I helped support five Annual Workshops, five Creative Competitions and five editions of ‘The Best of Newspaper Design™.’

“Working with the incredibly dedicated Membership Manager, Susan Santoro, I helped support upgrades to the SND databases that opened new marketing opportunities and improved our record-keeping.

“I thoroughly enjoyed virtually every day of work and all my interactions with the directors, committee chairs and SND’s talented, creative members.

“I would like to thank all the members for the privilege of having served as their executive director. It has been a wonderful experience.”

Immediate Past President Gayle Grin, ME/Design & Graphics at the National Post in Toronto, said, “SND is extremely grateful to Elise for her tremendous service, especially in the support she’s provided to our elected leadership. She has strengthened the organization on many fronts: finding new avenues for fundraising, assisting with the founding of a Chinese affiliate and initiating a deep exploration of our strategic plan.

“Elise is a dedicated professional who immerses herself in every challenge. In anticipation of our Annual Workshop this fall in Buenos Aires, she even began learning Spanish. It has been a great pleasure to work with someone of her caliber, and SND is better for her vision and leadership.”

Burroughs’ contract states that she will leave no later than December 31, 2009. “I hope to help SND make a smooth transition to the next executive director,” she said.

SND Vice President Bonita Burton will lead the search committee. She will announce details shortly.

“We’re thrilled to have the legendary graphic designer and theorist as the keynote speaker,” said Matt Mansfield, SND’s president. “Nigel’s work visually explaining the world has informed a generation — and as increasingly complex topics continue to dominate the news, his unique approach to making the difficult easier to understand seems more vital than ever.”

VIDEO OF NEW YORK TALK

Holmes talked about the current “mess we’re in” and how remaining passionate in the face of the current crisis may be the best defense at our SNDNYC meetup this spring at The New York Times.

MALOFIEJ INTERVIEW

Condé Nast’s John Grimwade sat down for an extensive interview with Holmes in 2004. Most of the images you see below can be found in the 22-page interview that was published in the annual Malofiej Information Graphics book.

Were you interested in graphics from an early age?

Yes, like a lot of English children growing up in the forties and fifties (I was born in 1942), I waited eagerly every week for a large-format comic called the Eagle, which, along with the usual kind of comic strips (ones that told stories of adventure in space or the wild west), had great cutaway drawings of buildings, racing cars, tanks, airplanes and so on. Many of these wonderful explanations were drawn by L. Ashwell Wood, and they occupied the coveted center spread of the comic.

The only member of my family to be involved with art was my great-uncle George. He did plans and elevations of British sailing vessels, some of which I was given as reference for a feature in the Observer magazine about regional boats (pictured above). It was only later that I realized who had done the reference drawings. For as long as I can remember, there was a map of a local Yorkshire river and the bridges over it drawn by George Holmes hanging in our living room. I was fascinated by the overhead plan view of the river, with three-dimensional views of the bridges crossing it. It was both a bird’s eye view and a human’s view presented in one picture. Nowadays that is commonplace, of course, but to a 6-year-old child in 1948 it was a revelation.

Where were you educated?

When Great Uncle George died, he left money to my father to educate my brother and I at one of England’s “public” schools. I was there from 1955 to 1960. I hated it. But then I went to Hull College of Art and had a great time. In 1963, I was accepted at the Royal College of Art, in London, to study illustration.

When did you decide to work in information graphics?

In 1964. My first graphics mentor was Brian Haynes (who had been at the RCA himself). He was then the art director of the London Sunday Times Magazine, and he was busy breaking down the walls between the art department and the writers. He did great work in the field of explanations. He would combine photos, maps, diagrams, extended captions and illustrations to make news stories clear. And Brian’s output was the entire story, there was no accompanying written piece. One example I remember was a visual description of the “Great Train Robbery”, a notorious crime that fascinated Britain in 1963.

Brian hired me to work as his assistant in the summer months of 1964, and I learned more from him in the short time I was there than I did in the three years at the Royal College. Brian convinced me that I wasn’t a very good illustrator, but that there was a real need for graphics that explained things. (I don’t think anyone called them information graphics at the time.)

When I went back at college after the summer, I just wanted to do “real” work instead of the somewhat irrelevant college exercises we were set.

Much to the college authorities’ disgust, I did just that, accepting freelance commissions from Brian Haynes when he moved to other magazines. For one of these jobs, Brian teamed me up with Peter Sullivan to do a large piece about Buckingham Palace (pictured above). Peter made wooden models of the floors of the palace, and had them photographed, and I did the opening double page color diagram of the Queen’s household staff–little drawings of people arranged in the front courtyard of the Palace, 200 of them, including all the footmen, nannies, chefs, clerks and ladies of the bedchamber, and everyone else involved with running the Royal Palace. The drawings weren’t very good, but I learned a huge amount from working with Peter Sullivan.

To show its displeasure that I was doing freelance work, the College only just allowed me to graduate. They gave me a “pass”–the lowest possible grade. Unfortunately for them, before they knew about my moonlighting, they had awarded me a traveling scholarship to America. And so in 1966, I traveled all over the States for four months.

Did you dream of doing something else?

Oh yes. As a child I had wanted to be a jockey, then a show jumper. My mother ran a riding school in Yorkshire, and I grew up on horseback (when I wasn’t reading the Eagle). Much later, when I started to do freelance work for the Radio Times, I took every chance to draw horses for them. Luckily English TV viewers were crazy about show jumping and horse racing.

Starting around age 13, I wanted to be a jazz drummer, and while I was at Hull College of Art, I played for a while in a small jazz band. Today I have a drumset permanently set up in my basement, but I am no better now than I was then! I still daydream of being at a jazz club when the drummer in the Thelonius Monk group falls ill and I have to step in to take his place.

What were the major influences on you? Who in the graphics field has influenced you the most?

Three very important art directors, to whom I am eternally grateful: Brian Haynes; David Driver (at the Radio Times in London); Walter Bernard (at Time Magazine in New York.)

Graphic influences: Quentin Blake and Paul Hogarth (illustrators and teachers at the Royal College of Art); Otto Neurath and Gerd Arntz; poster artists Abram Games and F.H.K. Henrion; Ronald Searle; Andre Francois; Radio Times artists from the 60s; Eric Gill (who also designed the best typeface in the world, Gill Sans); L. Ashwell Wood (those center spreads in the Eagle); Harry Beck (he created the London Underground map), Edward Muybridge (eccentric 19th century English photographer who took sequential pictures of animals and humans in motion.)

Artists: Eric Ravillious (great wood engravings and watercolors of England); Amedeo Modigliani (wow!…the sexiest nudes ever painted); Stanley Spencer (quirky English types); Kurt Schwitters (as a student, I made hundreds of scrap paper collages, copying his technique); Paolo Uccello (who, around 1450, was one of the first to grapple with perspective, mixing flat 2-D figures with perspective views in his paintings.)

Other dead people I wish I could meet: Alberto Giacometti, Thelonius Monk (I admire both for their pared-down, but odd, simplicity.) And I would like to talk to the artists who painted the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves, to find out what they were thinking.

Why did you move to the United States?

I came for an exploratory visit in 1977, mistakenly thinking that I could get freelance work that I would actually do back in England. I also wanted to earn more money than I was making in England working for myself.

I wrote a kind of fan letter to Walter Bernard whose redesigned Time Magazine had caused a minor sensation within the design community in England. Walter invited me to do some freelance work while I was in America. And when it was time for me to go home he offered me a permanent job, but I had to return to England while the necessary work visa was arranged, so I officially started at Time in March 1978. Amazingly, both the Radio Times and Time used the same typefaces: Times Roman and Franklin Gothic, and that greatly helped me to relax into the new job.

Looking back, how do feel about your years as Graphics Director of Time magazine?

It was an amazing place to be, and a great shop window for doing outside work, which was actually encouraged–the people at the top wanted us to be happy and busy, and they were proud that their writers and artists represented them in forums other than the magazine. (It was assumed that you just had to drop everything whenever it was time to work for the magazine.

So anyway, I did a great deal of freelance work, spoke at many conferences, wrote three books, and ran an information graphics workshop at the Rhode Island School of Design for 10 years, as well as working really long hours at the magazine. I loved it, and I loved being in America.

A really great thing about working at Time was that the map and chart department had its own permanent researchers, so I could concentrate on making the information understandable, knowing that the facts would always be exhaustively checked. (That’s the thing I miss most about working by myself, now.) Looking back, I can see that my best work at Time was from 1978 to 1988, before I started using a computer. Of course there are pieces from those years that I wouldn’t want anyone to see now! They were overdone, and sometimes my drawings got in the way of the information. But they were only out there for a week, and the next week I had another chance. Walter was a great mentor and still is a great friend. He helped me to bridge the gap between the art department and the editorial department, and together with the magazine’s editor Ray Cave, he urged me to improve on the sketches I showed them. Those two were invariably right in their suggestions, and they were truly an inspiration.

In my later years at Time, I was promoted and became bogged down with administration tasks, and had less time to do the actual work.

I think I should have left the magazine two or three years earlier than I did. Much of my work there after the introduction of computers was not very good. I suppose I thought having a computer would save time, saving me from laboriously drawing everything by hand, and cutting amberliths (Actually I had the best assistant anyone could have wanted, Nino Telac, and he did all the ambertlith cutting, and much more). Only when I left Time did I realize that it takes just as long—if not longer—to draw something properly on the computer as it does the old fashioned way.

Why did you leave Time?

Anyone who lasted 15 years there got a chance to take a six-month sabbatical (at half pay). I made it to 16 years but then I had to stop. Within weeks of starting this “holiday” I knew I’d never go back. They were very decent about it and allowed me to take the break (and the money) without going back to work there–although they tried very hard to get me back!

I had built up a healthy freelance business and found it quite easy to survive on my own. I did all sorts of work for many different clients (including Time). It was a wonderful release to be able to work in formats that were larger than the standard magazine page size, and with subjects that did not start with the week’s news.

Your graphics begin on paper. Can you explain how this traditional approach fits into the world of computers and illustration programs?

Everything still starts on paper, and usually in a smallish notebook/sketchbook. All my very first drawn ideas and written notes are in these books, which I have kept carefully over many years and often refer back to. There are many as yet uncompleted projects in them as well as day-to-day sketches and roughs for current jobs.

When I have a workable idea for a particular job, I’ll usually draw it out again larger; probably go through two or three more versions using tracing paper, until it’s pretty tight, and then scan it. Then I use the computer to construct the drawing in exactly the same way I used to use french curves and templates to create lines when I did not have a computer. I never use the computer’s autotracing feature.

I started using Freehand at Time and still do. I use no other computer programs (except Word, for writing), and I’m probably only using about 10% of the potential of Freehand, but that’s all I need. It keeps the finished work simple. I’m not against computers–they enabled me to leave the corporate world and work by myself–but they are dreadfully misused, to my mind, in information graphics today. I think the computer should be used to take stuff out of an information graphic, rather than loading it up with special effects.

In recent years we have seen a huge growth in the use of 3-D illustration. What place is there for a simpler, more graphic approach?

Well, 3-D and surface effects are what I was just talking about. The fact that we see it everywhere is just a result of computers making it possible–whenever a new toy comes out, people want to play with it. But 3-D illustration is just a phase. While it will remain part of an artist’s arsenal of tools, it will pass away as the prevailing trend for infographics, as all fashions do: the fashion for flat, cartoony illustrations, like some that I did at Time, passed. Actually it passed before I left Time, and my efforts to do simpler work at the magazine ran up against opposition from editors there. I think that’s why they so eagerly embraced the arrival of 3-D programs after I left; they needed the graphics to have “more to them” than the information itself. But as one who had sometimes dressed up charts fifteen years earlier, I was hardly in a position to criticize the new fashion. Many people had criticized my work as overdone.

When I first left Time, some clients asked me to dress up the work I did for them (I refused; they got another artist!), but now I’m finding a renewed acceptance for simpler work. While some magazines still overdesign their graphics, other clients are getting back to basics. That suits me (and I believe it suits the information, too). I hope we’ll see a return to what I think is the basis of good information design; that is, not treating every job as a showcase for computer effects, but instead paying attention to what information is to be passed along.

You are widely respected for your work with pictograms. How important is the pictogram in information graphics?

A couple of years ago I wrote a piece on pictograms for the Information Design Journal, and it made me think about symbols again. I had written a book (Designing Pictorial Symbols, 1985), but that was largely about icons I’d drawn for Time. Here I realized that one way we make information graphics is by using little pictograms as building blocks for entire illustrations. We each create our own personal visual language—little bits that we recycle again and again. And as long as it is our own language, it’s fine to recycle; in fact it defines our style.

I’m on the fence about everyone adopting one universal visual symbol language, because that suggests that we would all use the same icons (like an alphabet), and while I want people all over the world to understand what I have drawn, I’m not yet ready to give up personal style for a committee-accepted set of pictograms. I hope one day to do some work in the field of completely wordless diagrams, especially if it is for a cause such as helping those in third-world countries who are unable to read.

What do you think are the most important fundamental rules for our business?

I hate rules! They put straightjackets around freedom of expression. However, I guess I do have some personal rules of my own. The first is that the best way to explain things is always the simplest way.

Keeping things simple and clear does not mean dumbing down information, nor does it mean making it look boring and austere. That is why Art is important. I mean Art in the service of information, not art for art’s sake. Sometimes Art might mean just beautiful simplicity. At other times it might mean wit, or humor, or fun. My fundamental mantra is enjoyable clarity.

One thing that often seems wrong with information graphics is the use of too much color. These days, I like to start a job with very little color and only add it when the information demands it. Of course, many editors and art directors still think of information graphics as a sort of colorful decoration for their pages. While the arguments are obvious to me, nothing I say seems to convince them. The rule is: only use color when it’s needed (and get your arguments lined up!)

Over your career, which work has given you the most satisfaction?

During two periods: my freelance work at the Radio Times in the early 70s, and my first years at Time. But I am always hopeful that the best is yet to come!

In the whole wide world of graphics, who do you most admire?

Otto Neurath and his brilliant designer/artist Gerd Arntz.

What are questions every information graphics designer should ask?

What’s the point of the graphic I am doing? What information does the reader/user need to know?

I think many graphics are too big. Perhaps we designers should ask for less space when that’s all we need. So ask this question: what is really the best size for this graphic?

Why is information graphics still a second-tier job in the area of graphic design?

Firstly, because most people can’t do information graphics and don’t understand what is involved in making them. They are therefore relegated to the bottom of the pile, and dashed off without much thought. Most art directors (at magazines and papers that do not have information graphics directors) won’t spend the time conceiving good information graphics, so they make as many excuses as possible for why information graphics should not appear in their magazines.

Secondly, there are relatively few information graphics produced that can compete at the same level of visual excitement with other forms of graphic design (illustrations, posters, book jackets, etc). So information graphics do not have the same place at design conferences, in design competitions, and within design organizations. I don’t like design competitions much, but the results of them are one indication to editors that someone is recognizing your work.

In many cases, the best information design is the workhorse of the design field—it just goes about its job without getting much recognition or thanks. It’s taken for granted. A diagram here, a map there, a chart; to many people these things are “necessary”, but don’t have to be regarded as anything special.

Until we can convince the graphic design world, (and then the rest of the world), that information graphics is an important part of the graphics community, we’ll be sidelined.

After 40 years of doing information graphics, what’s in the future for you?

I’m trying to doing more of what I want to do—writing and drawing—rather than what a magazine or some other type of client asks me to do. But I still have to earn a living, so I’ll continue with my monthly “How-it-works” drawing for Attaché, US Air’s in-flight magazine, as long as they want me. The writer Jim Collins and I have been doing it together for over 6 years. We’ve done 75 columns so far, and we’re trying to get the collection published in a book.

I like working for the New York Times, because I think it’s a great paper (with terrific information graphics), and because they generally get me to do lighter illustrations, and it’s relaxing to have that kind of brief after staring at numbers the rest of the week. But I treat these illustrations just the same way I would an information graphic, with the same routine of thinking, writing, sketching, scanning and computer output. You can see this in the Father’s Day sketches and illustration for the Times.

In the last few years I have done seven books with Richard Saul Wurman. The best was a book of medical tests for men (and another for women). Now I want to start projects myself, and I am currently in negotiation with a children’s book publisher to write and illustrate a children’s adventure story. It’s got lots of diagrams and maps in it, so it looks like I’ll never be far from information graphics. But then again, I’m a very late developer, so watch out!

This was the sixth annual contest, which had 48 newspapers entered from Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia and Kazakhstan. The judges handed out 56 awards to 17 newspapers. The winners will be announced on Friday, May 29.

How the contest works

There were four judges from Russia (pictured from left to right): Ivan Anishev, art director from Delovoy Peterburg; Alexandra Konstantinova, art director from Vedomosti; Alexandr Vasin, a gifted editorial illustrator; and Svetlana Maximchenko, editor of “World’s Best-Designed Newspapers™” Akzia and SND’s regional director for Russia. The international judges were Marco Grieco, art director from “World’s Best-Designed Newspapers™” Expresso in Portugal, and myself, Gayle Grin, managing editor of design and graphics at the National Post and immediate past SND president.

The judging process was very thorough. Entries that received three votes from the six judges were given MUCH discussion. That entry then could be eliminated, given an award or elevated to a medal. I appreciated the thinking behind Russian design through these discussions. Oleg Dmiitriev, the interpretor for Grieco and me, was amazing. As we waded through the entries, he informed us of everything we needed to know. He was so good, he even interpreted our body language!

The entries

The larger papers showed some European influence, especially business papers from Moscow and St. Petersburg. Russia’s visual journalists are keen at finding papers from around the world as inspiration, in both design standards and visual techniques; however, there is still a definite respect for local flavor, and these papers seem in touch with their own communities.

Although I could see the growing impact of globalization in their design, the Russians’ vibrancy dominated their pages. The designs ranged from muscular to quietly elegant, very intelligent and linear, with great attention to details and consistency. The instinctive Russian preference for color is refined.

Many small regional papers with few resources entered the competition. They’re still learning visual techniques to tell local stories and are trying hard to implement design standards. It was pleasing to see the strong connection these papers have with their communities.

Russian newspaper history

The history of the newspaper scene in Russia is fascinating. After being suppressed by the Communist regime, there was a huge hunger for information and opinion, which resulted in a newspaper explosion. Free journalism created great enthusiasm but with a lack of a business plan, some of these papers were short-lived. But the hunger for print remained.

Six years ago, Dmitri Surnin (Russia’s first SND regional director) saw the need to help visual journalists in his country. He began a Russian-based workshop and competition. At that time, Surnin was the director of the Russian Independent Print Media program at the New Eurasia Foundation and arranged for a sponsorship. Dmitri is currently the editor of Moy Royan, but the New Eurasia Foundation still sponsors the workshop and competition.

Great hosts

Maximchenko and Surnin are typical of the youth, vibrancy and enthusiasm of the Russian media. They have done so much in promoting high visual standards in this area and were hospitable hosts, escorting the judges through Moscow during the Eurovision traffic jams on Saturday night.

After the judging was complete we went to the 20 Century Fine Art Gallery. The gallery was amazing! I began to understand 20th century Soviet art, from the impressionists to the propaganda art prevalent during Stalin’s tenure. Surnin explained how propaganda was very influential, especially to school children. I also was impressed with how artists from the Leningrad School were influenced by impressionism and cubism in Europe, but yet they interpreted those movements in a very Russian way.

Many thanks to the hosts for inviting me to be a judge and sharing their passion to grow visual journalism in Russia.

Spasibo!