Award-winning pages from Times of Oman and Al Shabiba to be showcased at UAE exhibition

For the first time in the Middle East, an exhibition will be highlighting the work behind the pages that make up a daily newspaper.

Award-winning examples of news design from the region will be exhibited at The American University of Sharjah in the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) Gallery. The displays have been selected from The Best of News Design Creative Competition sponsored by the Society of News Design (SND).

SND president
SND president Steve Dorsey will be visiting the UAE for the first time to grace the event. He will also be speaking about the evolution of the newspaper design.

"Right now, with so much emphasis placed on digital media," said design consultant Mario Garcia who did the landmark redesigning of Gulf News, "I can see how an exhibit that makes newspapers the protagonist is a very good idea. Many people know newspapers as household items, like they do a chair, a table or a fork. Not much attention is paid to them. An exhibit that presents all the nuances that constitute what goes into the design of a newspaper will be great.

And, the fact that it will profile the terrific work by so many of the newspapers of the Middle East will make it even a more desirable type of event."

The exhibit will showcase works from English newspapers (Gulf News, The National, Times of Oman) and Arabic newspapers (Al Bayan, Al Shabiba). It will open on November 20 at 5pm and will run until December 1.

There will be a round-table discussion in the CAAD Auditorium about the state of news design in the region. Participants include Miguel Gomez, design director of Gulf News; Laura Koot, managing editor of The National; Adonis Durado, design director of Times of Oman and Al Shabiba; and Luis Chumpitas, infographic director of Al Bayan.

"For the newspapers in the region that are still not up to speed in terms of design, the exhibit will be an eye-opener to all the possibilities," said Lucie Lacava, who was responsible for the design of The National and Al Ittihad in Abu Dhabi.

"Newspapers in the Middle East have reasons to celebrate the extraordinary work from the region. This exhibition brings to light the importance of visual journalism in the storytelling process. From page design to photography, illustration and infographics, in just a couple of years these papers managed to reach the highest standards of visual excellence, an accomplishment which often takes decades to reach elsewhere."

According to Lacava, these newspapers not only raised the quality and design craftsmanship of their pages to international standard but have surpassed it in many ways.

"This body of work will serve as inspiration to many others," she said, "because there is always room for improvement."
"What is most impressive is the degree to which newspapers in the region have plainly made intelligent, innovative design core to their missions," said Stephen Komives, SND executive director. "It is not seen as a luxury but a central value. And it is not confined to a single paper or country, but continuing to spread throughout the region."

The award-winning works are featured in the 32nd annual book The Best of News Design.

This year, Times of Oman bagged 37 awards (placed second in the overall award rank), while Al Shabiba scooped nine awards. In addition, Times of Oman and Al Shabiba design director Adonis also won the cover design competition of the annual book.

The Society for News Design (SND), founded in the United States in 1979, and the Newhouse School of Communication at Syracuse University, sponsor the annual Best of News Design competition, as well as related exhibitions and publications. Over the past decade, Gulf-based newspapers have gained increasing recognition in the areas of news design and information graphics.

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