Design, function and congratulations

Congratulations are in order for some Observer folks who won awards in the recent Society of News Design competition: designers Luke Trautwein, Jason Benavides, and alum Leslie Wilkinson, plus photographers, photo editors, editors and copy editors Wendy Yang, Todd Sumlin, Theoden Janes, Bert Fox, Barbara Russell and Chip Wilson.

But why should design matter at this time in our industry?

It matters more than ever. Read a smart McClatchy Interactive guy, Darren Abrecht. He writes about why haircuts matter, why design matters and how words like digitization, functionality and interfaces affect people, emotions and art.

Check him out.

Kansas City wins at SND

Congrats to sister paper The Kansas City Star for winning an award of excellence in SND judging in Syracuse.
Results for other papers are unclear at the moment: the SND judges are designers, not database experts, and they want some time before posting the full results database. They're great at posting pictures though.
Please note: Kansas City uses CCI to produce their paper. The winning front page uses a tried-and-true formula for breaking news: great photos, played well; a locater map, a breakout box. What looks like the planned centerpiece was squished downpage while retaining its graphic elements.
Six of the Top 10 list of winners use CCI: the Los Angeles Times; The New York Times; The Boston Globe; Hartford Courant; Chicago Tribune, and the San Jose Mercury News.
Thought for next year's SND judging: invite a database geek or two to help get the full results posted faster. It's possible, as The New York Times demonstrates with election results.
Or develop one from within. Avoid fields; jump fences.