Best of Digital News Design winners since 2010
SND’s Best of Digital News Design is a juried competition honoring visual and technical excellence in storytelling, graphics, social media and product design. Winning entries will receive an award or excellence, bronze, silver or gold medal for outstanding work that pushes the boundaries of design and technology and helps define the state of the art for our industry. The World’s Best-Designed™ judges identify and recognize work that has fundamentally shifted or improved how news and information is delivered across digital platforms.
We have released a comprehensive database of past winners, with entry links, through AirTable. Use the filter and sort functions to view awards by year, publication or category.
About the awards
Competition judges may issue Awards of Excellence, Bronze Medals, Silver Medals, Gold Medals, Best of Show honors, Judge’s Special Recognition honors and World’s Best-Designed™ honors. Unanimously winning entries were eligible for bronze, silver, and gold medals. These entries push the boundaries of design and technology and represent the cutting edge of the news design industry.
Gold Medals
Visual storytelling that defines the state of the art. These entries must stretch the limits of creativity both visually and technically. They must be groundbreaking in both form and fit — telling their story in the most powerful way imaginable. It should be perfect or as near as one can reasonably come. Any entry receiving this award should be held up as the gold standard for the design community.
Silver Medals
The aesthetic and technical proficiency of these entries should stretch the limits of the medium — representing an elevated level of execution and originality in pursuit of powerful storytelling. It should be nearly impossible to find anything deficient.
Bronze Medals
Recognizes visual storytelling at the leading edge of craftsmanship or innovation. These entries should demonstrate technical mastery, aesthetic mastery, or both. Entries receiving a Bronze Medal must have an elevated level of execution, originality or degree of difficulty.
Awards of Excellence
Recognizes outstanding and excellent visual storytelling. These entries go beyond mere technical or aesthetic competency and may push the boundaries of originality and creativity.
Yearly tallies
| Year | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
| World’s Best | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Gold | 12 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Silver | 37 | 36 | 36 | 42 | 27 | 23 | 20 | 12 | 19 | 8 | 15 |
| Bronze | 102 | 92 | — | — | — | — | – | — | — | — | — |
| A of E | 551 | 392 | 408 | 440 | 271 | 259 | 203 | 225 | 152 | 69 | 40 |
| Totals* | 702 | 524 | 449 | 485 | 303 | 284 | 229 | 239 | 176 | 79 | 56 |
*Not including World’s Best-Designed™ or other awards listed below. A of E indicates Awards of Excellence. Entries must have been published during each calendar year.
Best in Show awards: 2010.
Judge’s Special Recognition awards: 2010 (4) | 2011 (3) | 2012 (1)
To contact the competition committee, email competitions@snd.org.