Introducing the best in Kiwi magazine design
With the New Zealand Magazine Awards hangovers now well and truly abated, it’s time to reflect on those who did it best in the realm of magazine design. All up ten Best Cover Design awards and nine Designer of the Year awards were dished out across several categories.
Best Cover Design Award
Special Interest
category
Winner: Good
Judges comments:
- Masthead stands out and is easy on the eye, with nice tagline.
- Eye is led down to cover lines, design is simple and efficient.
- Love the colour contrast, and the stock contributes to ‘pick up factor’.
Business category
Winner: Idealog
Judges comments:
- Intense.
- Image and cover lines punch out.
Custom & Membership Publishing category
Winner: co.
Judges comments:
- Cute, has personality.
- Image communicates instantly and draws us in—we want the question answered.
Sport & Leisure
category
Winner: The Cut
Judges comments:
- Stands out, punchy cover lines easy to read.
- Key info above the retail display sight line.
- Good colour contrast, a lot going on visually, classy matt laminate.
General Interest &
Entertainment category
Winner: New Zealand
Geographic
Judges comments:
- Beautiful statement made by taking the simplicity of a great shot—an intriguing image—and keeping it simple.
- Cover lines interesting and well balanced.
Home, Food & Garden
category
Winner: Cuisine
Judges comments:
- Beautifully styled and art-directed,
- Like the play on ‘butterflied lamb’.
- Cuisine clever’ and fresh.
- Makes you stop and examine more closely.
Highly commended: Dish
Judges comments:
- Does what it sets out to do—evokes feelings of warmth, comfort, rustic-ness.
- Strong cover lines, sealed section entices.
Lifestyle category
Winner: Life & Leisure
Judges comments:
- Great colour contrasts, fresh and joyful.
Youth Category
Winner: Girlfriend
Judges comments:
- Caters well for an audience that likes lots of in your face’ cover lines but is starting to ‘grow up’ and want some sophistication.
- Design stands out well in a retail display environment.
Mass Market category
Winner: Listener
Judges comments:
- Powerful, emotive, stunning.
Trade Professional
category
Winner: AdMedia
Judges comments:
- Clever illustration, and play on words.
- Clear, and good contrast.
Designer of the Year Award
Home, Food & Garden category
Winner: Sally Fullam, Dish (Tangible Media)
Judges comments:
- Colour, type and imagery all balanced, innovative recipe formatting.
- Consistently high standard.
Special Interest category
Winner: Sheryl Burson, OHbaby! (OHbaby! Ltd)
Judges comments:
- Polished, nice pace. Good use of typeface and colour. Nailed it!
Sport & Leisure category
Winner: Des Frith, NZ Autocar and The Cut
Judges comments:
- Keeps it slick and clean, with well formatted information.
Youth category
Winner: Lisa Taylor, Creme (NZ Magazines)
Judges comments:
- Contemporary, cohesive, great understanding of colour and space – just flows.
Lifestyle category
Winner: Yolanta Woldendorp, NZ Life & Leisure (Fairfax Magazines)
Judges comments:
- Yolanta ensures that NZ Life & Leisure is aesthetically calm, easy, and very inviting.
- Ads don’t interfere, nothing jars, the feeling is of ‘just quietly getting on with it’.
Mass Market category
Winner: Bela Trussell-Cullen, New Idea (NZ Magazines)
Judges comments:
- Design formula has strength, and style fits the market really well in a quest to slow down ‘flicking’. A very close race.
Business category
Winner: Johanna John, Unlimited (Fairfax Magazines)
Judges comments:
- Clean, simple and effective—this formal approach works.
Trade Professional category
Winner: Kyra Bradcock, Threaded (Threaded Media)
Judges comments:
- Uses this experimental platform to full advantage.
- An enjoyable smorgasbord experience even if you don’t quite ‘get it’!
Custom & Membership Publishing category
Winner: Cindy Hurst, Real (Fairfax Magazines)
Judges comments:
- Good logic; hits the market spot on!
What do you think?