S’pore in colour, penguins in 3D projects win top awards for ST in global contest
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Two digital projects bagged top awards at the annual Best of News Design Creative Competition.
PHOTOS: ST GRAPHICS
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SINGAPORE - Have you ever thought about the colours that make up your neighbourhood?
Mandai, for example, would be mostly green, unless you were visiting the Penguin Cove at Bird Paradise, with its hues of blues and whites.
This digital project, called Singapore in Colour,
Held by the US-based Society for News Design, the competition honours excellence in visual storytelling, design and journalism produced throughout the previous year.
The other project that won a gold award was an interactive piece that looked at how one of the largest penguin enclosures was built in Singapore.
The competition’s judging panel, comprising 43 visual journalists from more than 30 organisations worldwide, convened in Minneapolis between May 8 and May 10, where they deliberated over works from publications around the world, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, South China Morning Post and Reuters.
ST clinched a total of 60 awards, of which 51 were for its digital storytelling efforts.
On the digital front, ST won two golds, five silvers, 13 bronzes and 31 awards of excellence. For its work in print, ST received nine awards of excellence.
ST is also a finalist for the World’s Best-Designed Digital News Experience, although results for that will only be announced next week.
ST editor Jaime Ho said he was deeply grateful for the “strong affirmation of our work” from fellow industry professionals.
“Such recognition, coupled with the knowledge that our work touches our audiences in ever deeper ways, continues to drive the newsroom towards even more creative ways of storytelling,” he said.
ST visual journalists Alex Lim and Charlene Chua and developer Roman Sverdan worked closely with ST’s photojournalists and digital graphics interns on the Singapore in Colour project. Their goal was to create an interactive piece that showcases the colour palettes of different neighbourhoods.
In their comments, the judges said they had never seen a story that “serves photography in this way”, describing it as complex, yet having a playful simplicity that immerses readers.
Mr Rodolfo Pazos, who oversees ST’s interactive graphics team, said the project took around six months of development and required full participation across departments to construct a database of images.
“The recognition is truly appreciated for acknowledging the team’s effort over the past year, and specifically for this project, where creativity was key.”
Meanwhile, the interactive piece on Singapore’s penguin enclosures featured animated 3D renders of the Bird Paradise’s penguins.
Journalist Ng Keng Gene, video journalist Amelia Loh, visual journalist Hannah Ong, designers Alyssa Mungcal, Claire Xu and Charlotte Tan, developer Anton Dzeviatau and data visualisation editor Rebecca Pazos worked on this project.
Ms Ong said the team wanted to bring in the element of fun, given that penguins were at the centre of the project – the interactive story features animated penguins diving into the water.
“We also wanted to let the readers know about the technical details behind constructing and sustaining an exhibit that aims to replicate the penguins’ habitat as much as possible,” she said.
Having the project recognised on an international stage is an honour, she said, adding that it reinforced the team’s belief that their work was visually striking and resonated with people worldwide.
ST’s winning projects
The Straits Times won 60 awards in the annual Best of News Design Creative Competition, which looked at works produced throughout 2023. Here are some of ST’s winning works.
Singapore in Colour (1 Gold, 1 Bronze, 4 Awards of Excellence)
What colour is your neighbourhood? Look through the different colours that make up Singapore in this interactive piece that saw 2,000 photographs being dissected for their colour profiles.
Judges’ comments: “I’ve never seen a story that serves photography in this way. This level of interactivity with a photo story really immerses you… It’s complex, but yet its playful simplicity is really, really engaging.”
How one of the largest penguin enclosures was built in sunny Singapore (1 Gold, 4 Silvers, 1 Bronze)
Find out how Bird Paradise’s Penguin Cove was designed to house 36 penguins across four different species.
Judges’ comments: “The entry stands out with its attention to detail and technical proficiency while remaining fun. The judges praised the piece’s bold and decisive choices, and noted the excellent balance between moments of delight and information.”
Why the haze has reached Singapore’s shores again (4 Bronzes, 1 Award of Excellence)
The haze may be a periodic phenomenon that we’ve all gotten used to, and this interactive shows how it ends up on our shores.
Judges’ comments: “This was an impressive entry with a beautiful haze map that clearly required a lot of data modelling.”
Shanti Pereira: Breaking Barriers (3 Bronzes, 2 Awards of Excellence)
Singapore’s sprint queen is fast, but how did she get even faster?
Judges’ comments: “The video infographics in this piece are extremely well done, both aesthetically and technically. The judges appreciated that the entry chose one athlete as the focal point, giving us her personal insight.”
More winners:
