Review-Journal staffers earn Society of News Design award
A front-page design published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal during the run-up to the inaugural Formula 1 race on the Strip earned a pair of the newspaper’s staffers international recognition.
Graphic artist Wes Rand and page designer John Hornberg were recipients of an “Award of Excellence” in the Sports Cover category of the Society of News Design’s 45th annual Best of News Design Creative Competition.
The colorfully rich, fishbowl-style illustration sketched by Rand shows a racer zooming down Las Vegas Boulevard.
It ran on a front page of the “Getting up to speed on Formula One” special section on Nov. 15.
Hornberg placed it on the page, or as he put it, “My job was to make it look good and make sure to get out of the way.”
Praising his colleague, Hornberg added, “sometimes the best thing a designer can do is make the artwork sing.”
Nathan Estep, the Review-Journal’s assistant managing editor in charge of visuals, said he was proud of both of them.
“But I would be proud of this section front even if it hadn’t won anything,” he said. “Wes’ illustration was dynamic and bold, and an excellent way to sell the section to locals who were still learning about the race. And John made sure the words told the story — without getting in the way of the art. They made a great team.”
Rand said he took inspiration by looking through “a whole bunch” of posters and drawings that depicted previous races.
The fisheye angle, he said, “seemed like a cool perspective.”
Both award recipients expressed excitement about the award.
Rand said he was happy with how the illustration, which took him several days to complete, came out but that he wished he had had more time.
But at some point he had to stop, because he couldn’t “work on it forever,” he said.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
