From Berkeley to Singapore, SND Goes Global

SND's 47th Creative Competition Goes Global with Dual-Site Judging and Landmark Southeast Asia Workshop

The 47th Edition of the Society for News Design's Creative Competition, SND47, takes place April 20-24 with a week of events, including SND's first workshop in Southeast Asia - a landmark expansion of the organization's global footprint.

Each year, SND's Creative Competition recognizes excellence in print and digital storytelling, infographics, illustration, social media, product design and more. This year, more than 4,000 submissions will be evaluated by practitioners from organizations including The New York Times, Die Zeit, The Pudding, the South China Morning Post, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Entries are judged against the merits of each category and each award. Unlike other competitions, there are no limits to the number of entries that can be awarded in any category. Judges can recognize entries with Awards of Excellence and Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals. The most exceptional work is considered for additional awards like Best In Show and World's Best-Designed.

"My favorite week of the year is the annual Creative Competition," said Jon Wile, VP/Design at American City Business Journals and the current SND President. "It's inspiring to see all the great work and energizing to talk about the craft with so many talented professionals."

For the first time, participants will convene in-person in two separate locations: the San Francisco Bay Area and Singapore.

"I will be on the ground in Singapore, eager to discuss storytelling with all of the amazing visual journalists in Southeast Asia," said Wile. "I hope we can make this expansion an annual part of the competition."

This year also marks a change in leadership for the competition; it will be the first with Tyler Remmel, a senior product designer at The Washington Post, serving as chair.

The week begins with a Student Session on Monday, April 20 at Logan Media Center in North Gate Hall, home of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. New York Times Graphics Editor and SND Board Member Marco Hernandez will lead a hands-on workshop on creative approaches to data visualization.

As the Student Session concludes, a judging group will begin evaluating entries in Singapore, hosted by Reuters and led by Asia Graphics Editor and SND Secretary Rebecca Pazos.

"It has long been a dream of mine to convene in Asia the best of news design," Pazos said. "I'm beyond glad to be bringing local and international voices together in-person, an opportunity we haven't had for many years now."

Judging in the Bay Area begins Tuesday, April 21 at UC Berkeley's Clark Kerr Campus, hosted by San Francisco Chronicle Creative Director and SND Vice President Alex K. Fong and the graduate school's Associate Dean Jeremy Sanchez Rue.

Judging concludes Thursday, April 23 for Bay Area judges and Friday, April 24 for Singapore judges with capstone award discussions that will include the entire jury.

The week closes with single-day workshops in both locations on Friday, April 24.

The Berkeley workshop will take place at the Logan Media Center as a hybrid event, with in-person and virtual attendance options. For details or to buy tickets, please go to our page for the Berkeley workshop.

The Singapore workshop will be held at the SPH Auditorium with in-person attendance only. For details or to buy tickets, please go to our page for the Singapore workshop.

In-person tickets for either workshop are $75 and free for SND members. Virtual tickets for the Berkeley workshop are $40 and free for members and currently enrolled students.

An RSVP is required for the in-person Student Session at UC Berkeley due to limited capacity. Spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis. For details and to RSVP, visit the Student Session page.

SND47 is sponsored by American City Business Journals, the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Reuters, The Straits Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle.