ASCD Wins National Publishing and Design Awards
Alexandria, VA (07/01/09)—Several ASCD publications recently earned recognition from three well-known publishing competitions. The 21st Annual Awards for Publication Excellence (APEX) honored ASCD with five awards, including a highly selective Grand Award. ASCD also won three awards from the former Society of National Association Publications (SNAP), now known as Association Media and Publishing (AMP). Earlier this year, ASCD won five 2009 American Inhouse Design Awards from Graphic Design USA (GD USA), a prominent professional design magazine.
ASCD’s member e-newsletter, ASCD Express, won an APEX Grand Award, the highest recognition in the competition, in the category of nonprofit newsletter. ASCD also won four APEX Awards of Excellence for the following publications: Habits of Mind Across the Curriculum (books: outstanding cover design), ASCD's 2008 Annual Report and Timeline (annual reports: Web and electronic), 2009 Annual Conference Program Book (meeting and event materials), and Educational Leadership's (EL's) December 2008/January 2009 issue (magazines and journals: overall excellence).
APEX awards judge quality in graphic design, editorial content, and the ability to achieve overall professional communications excellence. From almost 4,000 entries this year, APEX conferred 1,158 Awards of Excellence and only 100 Grand Awards.
ASCD's 2007 Annual Report won the EXCEL gold medal from AMP in the category of special publications. The annual report also won the coveted EXTRA Award for outstanding innovation in association media and publishing at the awards banquet held earlier this month. The judges remarked that the annual report and accompanying DVD was "daring and creative, but still meaningful and sophisticated." Also recognized, ASCD's blog Inservice received the EXCEL silver medal in the online publishing category.
"The writers, editors, and designers at ASCD dedicate themselves to aligning the content, the look, and the format for every project to effectively convey the message," said Carole Hayward, ASCD director of Newsletters and Special Publications. "The staff welcomes the fresh challenges that arise with the advent of each new technology."
AMP's EXCEL Awards annually recognize exemplary work of association publishers. AMP received nearly 1,000 entries for more than 180 awards across 65 categories. AMP is a nonprofit, professional society that serves the needs of association publishers and communications professionals.
GD USA's American Inhouse Design Awards are the "premier showcase for outstanding work by inhouse designers." ASCD won five awards in four categories: The ASCD 65th Anniversary Timeline (multimedia and interactive design), How to Help Your School Thrive and The Differentiated School (book cover design), EL's May 2008 issue cover "Reshaping High School" (publication cover design), and the 2009 Annual Conference Program Book (special publications design).
"At ASCD, our talented staff is committed to preparing the highest-quality tools for educators," said Gary Bloom, ASCD director of Design and Production. “We strive to make the appearance of our products reflect the excellence of our content. More important, we want our material to be presented in the most appealing, visually organized, and readable fashion possible.”
GD USA, a news magazine for graphic designers and other creative professionals, has been judging national design competitions for more than 40 years. Their awards span 23 categories from print to interactive design. Winners receive prominent features on their 100,000 visitor-a-month Web site.
ASCD also earned four nominations for the Distinguished Achievement Awards from the Association of Educational Publishers. Finalists included the e-newsletter ASCD Express, EL Editor in Chief Marge Scherer’s monthly column, and two EL cover designs.
Contact Information
- Barbara Michelman, communications director, at 1-703-575-5764 or by e-mail
- Laura Berry, communications specialist, at 1-703-575-5461 or by e-mail