Editorial design

WINNER Politics v Policies by 20something In the run-up to the 2019 UK general election, 20something created a “non-biased” newspaper that compared 14 top policies of the six major political parties. Politics vs Policies was an attempt to create a non-partisan publication, simply laying out key policies from the NHS to immigration. The project aimed to give people a “non-biased summary” by allowing people to “easily compare the policies, stepping away from party politics and allowing them to create a more informed opinion on what they wanted to vote on”. In an attempt to achieve this, the editorial design was simple and without frills, using the Timmons font from graphic designer Matt Willey for “impact” and GT America for its main copy. “We turned the medium on its head and provided an alternative to the billionaire-backed newspapers commuters are used to reading, while retaining the trusted newspaper format commuters are familiar with,” 20something says. On 11 December, the day before the election, 10,000 copies of the paper were handed out for free across all major transport links in London. The judges said: "In the run up to the 2019 General Election against a backdrop of fear around fake news, this self-initiated project compared policies side-by-side in an objective way. The clear, no-nonsense design, presented as a newspaper was the perfect medium for the project."

HIGHLY COMMENDED Dishoom: From Bombay with Love by Dishoom Dishoom: From Bombay with Love is the Indian chain restaurant’s first cookbook. It celebrates Bombay’s barrier-breaking Irani cafes, which brought people together over food and drink and were at their peak of popularity in the 1960s. The book itself is a love letter to Bombay, with photography from Haarala Hamilton and vintage references to maps, magazines and guidebooks which create a sense of “nostalgia”. “Every single detail in the book came from Bombay,” Dishoom says. A hand-drawn illustration of an Irani cafe is featured on the teal blue front cover and the palette is inspired by the walls in Britannia Café, a famous Bombay restaurant. There’s also a fold-out map on the inside, as well as a number of period details in an effort to transport readers to the “most treasured corners of Bombay”.

Metal Slug: The Ultimate History by Bitmap Books, for SNK Corporation Metal Slug: The Ultimate History is the first officially licensed book about the iconic gaming franchise, which first launched in arcades in 1996. Bitmap Books worked with SNL, the videogame company that created Metal Slug, on the project and explored its design archives to honour the game’s legacy. The A4 book is hardback and 452 pages long; a collector’s edition hasa slipcase with buttons that play a sound effect from the game. Only 1,000 copies of the special edition were printed, and it sold out in 24 hours. Inside the book are illustrations, concept artwork and interviews with the development team, which reveal myths and uncover truths about the franchise.

EDITORIAL DESIGN

1843 Magazine - October/November 2019, February/March 2020, April/May 2020 by The Economist The Economist’s bi-monthly sister magazine, 1843, explores lifestyle, arts and ideas in a manner that is “cerebral yet entertaining”. For October and November’s issue which explored the theme of pain and how society is trying to deal with it, Noma Bar designed an evocative cover (which uses a nail to great effect) and the main inside spread. Bar also designed the cover for April and May’s issue, around the “the business of love”, suggestively using the imagery of spreadsheets to explore how commercial interests have influenced modern romance. For February and March’s edition, a more photographic approach was taken; the art team treated low quality photos taken on a smartphone by a reporter and turned them into a 14-page feature (and cover story) about being held captive in Iran.

Samsung EU Forum Magazine by Prophet, for Samsung Prophet was brought in to create the supporting material for Samsung’s annual EU Forum, the tech company’s flagship event which showcases its latest products to a range of retailers. Prophet also developed a ‘storyline’ for the three-day event in 2019, based around the theme ‘Reinvent Convention’ (this tagline also appeared on the magazine cover). An 80-page print and digital magazine was designed to highlight the event’s cutting-edge trends and real consumer stories. The covers were printed in a range of mint, grey, blue and pink tones and a wide- ranging colour palette featured throughout the inside spreads – part of its “disruptive and bold” design.

Champions Journal by TwelfthMan Champions Journal – a quarterly magazine dedicated to football – has the tagline: ‘Beyond the 90 minutes.’ And to convey the more lifestyle-focused aspects of the title, TwelfthMan Ltd used photography that you might not expect from a sport magazine – moody, evocative portraits rather than athletes in actions. A wide range of illustrators have been used as a way to vary the pace of the reading experience. Careful consideration was paid to the hierarchy of typography, too; in particular a “flexible” headline typeface which can “inject personality” into each feature when used in different weights and sizes. More differentiation can be found in the features, which are set out on a different grid, which results in more white space so that the “copy and photography have more room to breathe”.