Best of News Design from the Middle East can been seen at AUS

Award-winning designs of newspapers from around the Gulf can be seen at the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) at American University of Sharjah (AUS) from November 20 to December 1. An opening ceremony was held on Sunday, November 20, at the CAAD Gallery featuring the winners of the Best of News Design from the Mideast 2010. The exhibition is being held in conjunction with the Society of News Design/MENA.

Work on display is selected from the Society of News Design's 37th annual Best of News Design competition. The CAAD exhibit features award-winning work from the MENA region, including work by Gulf News, The National, Al Bayan and Times of Oman.

The Society for News Design is a professional organization established in the US in 1979. The annual Best of News Design competition and the related exhibitions and publication are sponsored by the Society for News Design and the Newhouse School of Communication at Syracuse University. In recent years, Gulf region newspapers have gained increasing recognition as leaders in the areas of news graphics and information design.

The opening of the exhibit also featured a roundtable discussion in the CAAD auditorium on the state of news design in the MENA region. Participants included Steve Dorsey, President, Society of News Design; Adonis Durado, Design Director, Times of Oman; Luis Chumpitas, Infographics Director, Al Bayan; Miguel Gomez, Art Director, Gulf News; and Laura Koot, Managing Editor, The National.

"In just the last decade, news publishing has flourished in the Gulf region and a range of new or newly designed periodicals are making an impact far exceeding what one would expect from the relatively small readership numbers," said Bob Dahm, Assistant Professor in Design. "It is exciting to see the creative work being done by graphic and infographic designers, photographers and illustrators in the region today," he added.

This event is a part of CAAD's outreach to and interaction with the professional design community. The event helps introduce students to design professionals in the region.

The exhibition can be viewed in the CAAD Gallery through December 1.