Al Majalla has picked up an impressive 14 Awards of Excellence at the Society of News Design’s 47th Annual Creative Competition. SND has organised this competition annually since 1979, and it remains the global benchmark for visual journalism. These awards honour standout visual journalism across design, infographics and illustration, to animation and multiplatform storytelling, chosen by a stellar lineup of visual journalists worldwide.
Three awards came for our comprehensive coverage of the ongoing wars in the Middle East, Donald Trump’s second term, and the Arab world over the past 25 years. Another three awards were across Story Page Design, Illustration and Use of Animation for our coverage of Europe’s rising right-wing movements.
We were also recognised for our visual storytelling on subjects ranging from privacy in the AI era and the race to put nuclear reactors on the moon, to the discovery of the first-ever whole genome of an Ancient Egyptian. A tribute to the late Lebanese composer Ziad Rahbani and an infographic on Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs also won awards. Additionally, Sara Loane, Al Majalla’s Creative Director, received an Award of Excellence for Individual: Art Direction Portfolio.
Commenting on the achievements, Al Majalla Editor-in-Chief, Ibrahim Hamidi, said, “It’s a privilege to see our powerful visual storytelling included again in this year’s awards alongside world-class publications. These awards are among the most prestigious in the field.” This year saw more than 4,000 entries from media publishers and professionals worldwide.
In a separate achievement, Al Majalla's creative works were also recognised by the Society of Publication Designers. We were named a digital medal finalist in the infographic category for our powerful animated infographic marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It's an impressive recognition, given that the contenders are among the most influential names in global media: National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, NYT Opinion, and The Wall Street Journal.
In addition to this milestone, our work has earned five merit awards across print and digital in the design, illustration, infographic and animation categories, highlighting both the breadth of our storytelling and the strength of our creative team.
Our coverage of the rise of populism across Europe received merit awards in both the design and animation categories. A special report examining the sweeping transformations in the world in the first quarter of the 21st century was recognised in the illustration category.
Further merit awards went to our infographics: one in the animation category exploring the evolution of Latin America’s drug cartels, and another in the illustration category detailing how Trump’s “Liberation Day” led to even higher-than-expected tariffs.
“For us, the creative work is not an accessory to journalism; it is central to how Al Majalla defines itself,” said Hamidi. “Design, illustration and visual storytelling are fundamental to the way we strengthen our brand, engage readers and communicate complex ideas."
