Best Front-Page Design (Enrollment Division 3)Back
Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Prospect High School Entry Title: The great divide Entry Credit: Amanda Feinberg Judge Comment: Overall, very impactful display and great design! Front page is somewhat text-heavy, so would consider adding secondary but alike stories or visuals to create a package. This also helps push readers through the entire paper. Recommending looking at front covers from Election Day coverage for examples and inspiration. Overall, great cover!
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Prospect High School Entry Title: Disruptive Empathy Entry Credit: Peter Radosh Judge Comment: Cover follows universal page design principles nicely. Would consider intention behind certain choices, such as the text shape and size of the sub-deck. Also consider headline hierarchy as both stories are competing for attention being about the same size at the same height on the page. Also consider the accessibility element as white text against a transparent box can make the article difficult to read. Recommending finding other ways to provide contrast, such as applying a gradient instead.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Washington Community High School Entry Title: Nov. 4, 2024 Entry Credit: Annabelle Hiel, Madeline Bishop, Hannah Meyers Judge Comment: Design applies good overall design principles to page. Would consider enlarging photos, if possible, to have an even more dominant visual. This also forces text to jump, which pushes readers to continue reading as both front-page stories end on the front page. Also consider combining alike stories in one package. Recommending to look at front covers from Election Day for example and inspiration! Overall, designer applies principles well. Also consider positioning of candidates above masthead, as heads are cut off.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: Maine West High School Entry Title: Masquerade Brigade Entry Credit: Trino Chavez Judge Comment: Overall, good design! Elements provide great visual interest and contrast. Advising to check aliasing on masthead for fuzziness. Also consider removing white border to give a little more breathing room on busy visuals or provide some sort of contrast inside and outside the border.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: Washington Community High School Entry Title: Oct. 4, 2024 Entry Credit: Annabelle Hiel, Madeline Bishop, Hannah Meyers Judge Comment: Design applies principles well to page. Would consider sizing up visuals and designing on a 5-column grid to allow for bigger visuals and headlines, which would help text jump, forcing readers to continue reading the edition. Would also try to avoid visuals of people where readers cannot see their faces. To help eat up some space, would also consider teasers and an index of some kind under the masthead or at the bottom of the page. Also consider bold bylines to ensure authors are receiving credit by readers.
Competition Comment: “Finding What Heals Us” entry: Overall, this is a good design, but for graphic-heavy covers, would consider keeping all elements the same aesthetic or style because that can actually be distracting for readers.
