Houston — The magazine industry’s leading international competition has recognized AramcoWorld for the 13th year in a row with a record total of 13 editorial and design awards.
At its annual awards ceremony in New York, the 2018 Folio: Eddie and Ozzie Awards named AramcoWorld a first-place winner in two categories of its Custom division — Best Section, for “FirstLook,” and Best Cover Design for the January/February 2018 issue.
‘First Look’
“FirstLook” is one of the magazine’s newest offerings, says AramcoWorld editor Richard Doughty.
From the awe-inspiring design of the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, to a daily life image from a Southeast Asian Bajau community, the section “opens the magazine with a two-page visual chosen to create an element of surprise, with both beauty and insight.”
Protecting Snow Leopards
The story “Asian Nations Unite to Protect Snow Leopards,” received not only a top award for its cover design but was also a finalist for its story.
“This was a really special story to work on,” says digital media editor Johnny Hanson. “Because of the timing and location of the 2017 Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Forum in Bishkek, we had to find just the right person to do this story. Someone who was knowledgeable about the topic, could speak the language, shoot both photos and video. To find Adriane Lochner was a dream, and in the end, we told an important story in a powerful way.”
The top awards, says Doughty, “are a welcome affirmation of the relevance of print publishing in a time when a lot of our strategy keeps moving digital.”
Finalist Awards
The finalist awards included Best Instructional Section; Single Article; Digital Newsletter; Video; Instructional Series, for “Classroom Guide;” Supplemental or Annual feature, for the 2018 “Tarab” calendar, and two awards each in long-form feature writing, and website design.
The Classroom Guide is a section that continues to develop and grow, says AramcoWorld assistant editor Alva Robinson.
“Education is the main goal of AramcoWorld, and if we can provide a tool that can be used by teachers and students globally, it’s a really special thing to be a part of.”
The two finalist awards for long-form features, “Chasing Zero” (July/August 2017) and “Hike Palestine,” (May/June 2018) validate the magazine’s reputation for quality feature writing. Recognition in other categories — such as cover design, awards for the annual calendar, digital newsletter, and web design — highlight what Doughty calls “the diversity and strengths of the magazine’s ability to be discovered by readers in multiple ways.”
About the Awards
Each of the Folio: contest’s more than 80 categories is peer-juried by volunteer editors. Each entry is judged according to how well it fulfills its publication’s own mission statement. The annual contest is the largest in the magazine industry, attracting more than 3,000 entries.
ASC Public Affairs produces AramcoWorld in print and digital editions (www.aramcoworld.com) to broaden knowledge of the culture, history, and geography of the Arab and Islamic worlds.