First place: Ron Borresen, formerly of The Herald-Tribune

About this entry: Ron Borresen’s sections are imaginative, brilliantly designed and COLORFUL! With covers like this, readers have no choice but to want to see what might be inside.

Terrific ideas and outstanding photo illustration work make these covers so fun, so contemporary, and so inviting to readers. It must be a treat for readers to see what Ron will come up with next, making a destination section even more attractive.

Second place: Adam McHugh of Center for News & Designdesigning for Rockford Register Star

About this entry: Adam McHugh’s clean designs perfectly suit whatever content they might be visually representing, from serious pieces on domestic violence to his fun primer on the Star Wars universe.

I love Adam’s powerful, clean work, particularly on the domestic violence series. A great feel for type hierarchy and drama, and preventing the two design disciplines from being in conflict.

Third place: Murphy Redmond, The Repository

About this entry: Murphy Redmond’s covers are expertly designed, wonderfully researched and exciting to look at. They work just as well when representing a series of articles as they do standalones.

Strong covers capture the excitement of local for the communities.