The Society for News Design is in the middle of a membership drive and has asked some of its members to explain SND’s importance to them or their career. Today, we feature ….

Roger Black,
Legendary Designer/
Redesign Consultant

“SND has provided a real news design community for me since I first started working for a daily newspaper in the 1980s. It connects the people who care about design in papers and digital news sites and apps. This provides emotional reassurance and professional reinforcement. SND is a kind of tribal bonding.

One memory of an SND workshop that stuck in my mind is about Lou Silverstein, perhaps the greatest news designer of the 20th century. Lou was a mentor for many of us, and my boss at The New York Times. He was given the SND Lifetime Achievement Award in Phoenix in 2001. I remember him talking about how exciting it was to be involved in launch of SND. He said, ‘The important thing is for SND to spread civilization throughout newsrooms everywhere.’ This is how Lou thought of his work at the Times, civilizing the newsroom so they would think about visual content and design as essential to their daily report.

With Lou’s civilization facing challenges, SND is essential in the effort to hold on to the things we’ve learned about the immersive experience of a great news publication. And to show the world that design is the key to the future of the news.”

If you feel the same way about SND, please consider joining or renewing your membership today. It’s easy. Just follow this link: snd.org/join