Judge Eric Seeger's Comments: Considering the vast amount of information that had to be included in this magazine, it is still presented stylishly and usefully (the two most important virtues this publication requires to be a success with its intended user). The editorial content is interesting, attractive, and snappy. Perfect for any person looking to kill a few minutes while resting their feet at a big trade show.

Judge John Rennie’s comments: PINK magazine’s web site is a powerful and appealing complement to the print edition, providing an array of helpful resources for women seeking to advance their careers. The content available online extends what is on the newsstand but also draws in new readers. The site’s fresh, functional design is easy to navigate and reliably mirrors the aesthetic sensibility of the print edition. 

Judge Janice Shay’s comments: This photographic tour-de-force is a perfect blend of title, text, photography and design. The excellent photography was perfectly used to capture movement, tension and emotion. Photographic page bleeds put the reader right in the middle of the action. 

Judge Katy Howe’s comments: Adam Kuehl’s night landscapes were by far the best among the entries. These bold yet almost eerie photographs draw the viewer in like no other photo essay. These long exposure nightscapes show Savannah at night in great detail. Unexpected for an editorial magazine but not out of place—well done!

Judge Katy Howe’s comments: These still-life photographs by Tony Clark struck me right away—They are simple in both composition and palette yet they are taken to the next level in the way that they handed the editorial content of the piece. The incorporation of the products with their origins is brilliant and sure to draw the reader in instantly.

Judge Robert Newman’s comments: The South mixes a strong design sensibility with powerful photographic imagery. The logo and cover are strong, the size and paper stock effective, the design interesting, diverse and engaging. Most importantly, The South uses its photo stories to make strong visual statements again and again. This is a visually smart and energetic magazine.

Judge Robert Newman’s comments: Paste is a highly original looking magazine. The design feels like a mash-up of classic Americana and edgy indie rock, which is exactly the mix of the music the magazine covers. Paste has a unique visual voice that is evident from the cover to the back page. It’s easy to navigate, lush with texture, diverse and creative. The design advances the  editorial voice of Paste, giving it a visual voice that carries throughout the magazine.

Judge Robert Newman’s comments: This is a brilliant redesign that keeps the essence of the magazine while adding authority and a more contemporary look. A smart new cover design, a strong, elegant new logo, bold section headings, sophisticated typography, bold destination pages; it’s all here. The  new look makes this magazine feel essential and definitive.

Judge Robert Newman’s comments: Art Papers completely overhauled their magazine, right down to trim size and cover and paper stock. The design is artful without being artsy; it adds authority and weight to the edit, while highlighting the imagery. This is a highly sophisticated look, brilliantly executed, that makes Art Papers feel like a whole new publication.

Judge Robert Newman’s comments: Charlotte’s redesign elevates the magazine to major league status. Not just a cosmetic redesign, they have totally revamped and added new sections. The look is bolder, cleaner, more sophisticated and modern, with strong formatting and architecture and engaging features. Charlotte has done all this, and still maintained the essential DNA of the magazine. A great job.

Judge Matt Strelecki’s comments: A very interesting juxtaposition of flat graphics with an antiqued playing card creates a highly impactful and interesting cover. The vibrant pattern of card symbols creates an electric backdrop that almost insists the viewer look at it. It is compelling and unique among the competitors with its urbane attitude and playful execution.

Judge Matt Strelecki’s comments: The scale of the image is overpowering but it is countered beautifully by the tranquil nature of Elijah’s expression. It is not just the strength of the image and simple typography that makes the cover so intriguing; it is the subject’s peaceful visage and proximity to the viewer. It is intimate and personal while managing to be visually loud and direct all at the same time.

Judge Matt Strelecki’s comments: With its personal and intimate staging, the cover image and design evokes more than just another drink at a bar. It defines a mood, sets a place, and tells the reader just what they can expect. It promises satisfaction and a memorable moment in time. 

Judge Matt Strelecki’s comments: It is all things southern: gothic, ghostly, and modern all in one. From its iconic image of the famous Savannah statue, the cover pays tribute to the past while updating it. It boldly states that the old south endures while acknowledging that it is evolving into new and contemporary versions. The cover manages to hold on to what was and combine it with a new visual voice to create something entirely different from its inspiration.

Judge Matt Strelecki’s comments: Paste is on par with any national magazine when discussing style, design and presentation. This cover effectively links a great photograph, typography, and messaging to make a compelling and desirable product. From the logotype and choice of finish, to the tonal range of the images and typography, this cover is a snapshot of the most current design trends while not succumbing to the trite excesses of the day. It is sophisticated, rich and textural and is an excellent mirror of its subject matter. Like rock and roll, it is chaotic, dangerous, and potent. Sign me up as a subscriber. I only need to see one issue to know I want more of them.

Judge David Masello’s comments: Yoga as a metaphor for trust—what an original idea. Jane Gaboury tells the reader a story that initially seems wholly unrelated to industrial engineering, yet what she writes is applicable to any situation or profession.

Judge David Masello’s comments: Who could have guessed that the title’s subject matter could be rendered in a funny, informative, and politically charged manner? One of the world’s least desirable products has sudden appeal.

Judge David Masello’s comments: This is an essay that while being lighthearted, humorous, and anecdotal is always poignant. And while it is also decidedly personal, the message has an appeal to many readers and parents.

Judge David Masello’s comments: Michael Donohue’s essay is immediately engaging and you are compelled to read it to the end in one sitting. He manages to relate the story of multiple characters—those of the title, as well as his own as a young man in Brooklyn. The suspense itself is a character.

Judge David Masello’s comments: Van Miller takes what is otherwise a rather common experience, the finding of a lost dog, and fashions a moving and passionate story. While the tale is personal, he has also simultaneously written a feature article about the workings of the city’s animal shelter.

Judge Fred Petrovsky’s comments: The December 2006 issue of Impressions featured a comprehensive and extremely thorough report on the decorated apparel industry.  The series is a model of thoroughness, featuring a "deep dive" into the numbers, all brought to life by terrific profiles of decorators and their businesses. 

Judge Christopher Hann’s Comments: Filled with well-reported stories about the many faces who made up the response teams in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, this one-year-after review contained ample evidence of the power of the human spirit. 

Judge Christopher Hann’s Comments: Even-handed, comprehensive, and filled with information on all manner of topics of interest to parents of K-12 students, this issue was a monumental task well executed.

Judge Christopher Hann’s Comments: This entry, a celebration of the personal letter, is highlighted by "Into the Hectic Unknown," a fascinating romp through three decades of correspondence between the editors of this vaunted literary quarterly and the writers (and would-be writers) who made it so. Taken together, the letters, written from 1947 to 1976 by the likes of Flannery O'Connor, T.S. Eliot, and Albert Einstein—a constellation of cultural stars—chronicle the life of the magazine as well as the life of the nation. And it's damn engaging prose.

Judge Christopher Hann’s Comments: This ambitious, three-part series looked at the post-9/11 world through the eyes of Charlotte residents, including several who barely made it out of Lower Manhattan alive; local residents who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan—and two local lawyers who defended enemy combatants held at Guantanamo Bay; and the terrorist threat in Charlotte itself. Lots of good reporting yielded lots of good stories.

Judge Betsy Robertson’s comments: Compelling, focused, specific, impeccably researched and relevant to its audience: Those are the qualities that garnered Professional Photographer's "How You Can Make More Money" the Gold Award for Best Service Journalism in the business-to-business category. The story summarized industry benchmarks without becoming mired in extraneous detail, outlined specific recommendations for increasing profits and included real-life "turnaround" stories that illustrated how business owners could use the article's tips to do exactly what the headline promised. Bravo!

Judge Betsy Robertson’s comments: Arthritis Today's "Beyond the Headlines" truly does its readers a service by examining the media hype over certain major health-care studies, then analyzing, interpreting and explaining counter-intuitive results. Insightful, provocative work.

Professional Photographer, "Tough Customer" - Published by PPA Publications

Comments from Judge Sandy Sabo: A fresh approach gives this feature the edge in a competitive field of entries. It chronicles the adventures of one high school student as she has her senior portraits taken by three different photographers. The article's compare-and-contrast angle, coupled with the subject's personal perspective on the experience, effectively fulfills the magazine's mission to "educate and inspire" photographers who are are also small business owners. 

Comments from Judge Karen Saks: With its audience’s concerns of fast-growth in the forefront, 20 South’s feature on the success of a conservation subdivision makes the reader wonder why more communities are not demanding sustainable development. Evocative and friendly writing is mixed with well-organized information to smartly unfold complicated ideas through the story of one developer. The result: the benefits and intricacies of planning and building become accessible and personal.

Comments from Judge Karen Saks: Beginning as a proud and personal account of how to approach hiking the Appalachian Trail, Heather KW Brown’s account swiftly branches out to include local treasures and solid service. As the “A.T.” begins from Springer Mountain in Georgia, this breezily written feature should make all Georgians anxious to don a pair of hiking boots, believing they can all walk even just a mile in her shoes.

Comments from Judge Karen Saks: To honor the stylishness, flair and originality with which the author treats her subject, “Ichthyosis,” Jennifer Culkin’s brief verbal painting of an equally brief life of a baby born with a severe malformation, earns the Gold. The scene is a neurology/neurosurgery unit of a large children’s hospital, yet Culkin’s vivid and perceptive prose results in our own questioning of the mysteries of life and death, of love and loss, and our concomitant desires for self-preservation and giving.

Paste, "Philip Seymour Hoffman: the Mad Detective" - Published by Paste Media Group

Comments from Judge Karen Saks: Jennifer Senator’s feature captures the essence of an elite Southern fundraiser extraordinaire—“hair du jour” and all, revealing as much about the Georgia elite as it does about Ms. Dorsey. At once funny, disarming and at all times honest, the tone and voice of this feature is nonjudgmental yet revealing, written as a roller-coaster ride mirroring Dorsey’s fundraising world, itself.

Judge Mark Obbie’s comments: Reader service, pure and simple. The editors’ approach is problem-solving over a wide range of issues, and it works.

Judge Mark Obbie’s comments: This is smart, deep reporting and research for a sophisticated, demanding audience – service and trade journalism that’s broad, deep, and high quality.

Judge Sallie brady’s comments: Story, art, and design, work together in this issue to draw in the reader and celebrate the voices and  highlights of a community.

Judge sallie brady’s comments: An exhaustive idea file for the homeowner, this kitchen and bath issue presents everything from product, to floor plans, to construction costs, in an interactive, accessible format.

Judge sallie brady’s comments: The creative story ideas, playful photography, and sense of humor that is the voice of this regional make this holiday issue a real page-turner.

Paste, "The 100 Best Living Songwriters" (June/July 2006) - Published by Paste Media Group

Judge sallie brady’s comments: This is one of those newsstand discoveries that you subscribe to after an issue like this one that's serves up the best of cross-generational music and books with the ease and intelligence of a writerly magazine.

Judge Tony Silber’s comments: With a sharp, well mapped-out presentation that belies its depth of content, this association stunner belonging to the Institute of Industrial Engineer achieves a structure and design that many commercial magazines even fail to realize. The magazine's expertly crafted editorial deftly captures actionable content for a broad readership that so many trade and association publications strive for.

Judge Tony Silber’s comments: This lush magazine for planners of high-level corporate retreats and client entertainment promises to impress, entertain and inspire readers about the locations it covers. I’ll bet it does the same for itself. It’s a beautiful magazine to look at, and its mix of location reviews, smart ideas and advice for travelers and planners combines to make it an extraordinarily pleasurable reading experience.

Judge Leara Rhodes comments: Most city magazines target the affluent upper middle class with coffee table, country club type of articles. There is nothing wrong with that market, but it is refreshing to see a city magazine take all of its publics seriously and do a good job. Texas Monthly can do it and so can Newnan-Coweta Magazine. In one issue they covered art, sports, weddings, and food. It was their March/April issue so weddings were dominant but rather than focus on the dress, they had articles on a unique ceremony, two sisters who got married within 24 hours of each other, and reception sites. There were articles on movies filmed in Coweta County and history. But the best part of the magazine was how they covered the diverse population who live in Coweta County from hip hop to literature to weddings to art; the people were there in living color. Thank you.

Judge Leara Rhodes comments: Though the mission statement says they are a lifestyle magazine for Gwinnett County, I think they need to add “and major cheerleader for all things Gwinnett.” They certainly are positive about what people can do in the county from businesses, sports, education to buying homes, and attending events that keep people who are in Gwinnett, entertained in Gwinnett. Their heavy-handed bold design emphasizes their “rah rah” attitude for their county.

Judge Leara Rhodes comments: What is there not to love about this magazine? It is stylish, beautifully photographed and artfully designed. There is a lot of thought put into the art and the text, for example the article on the art of BBQ has the title over a red plaid table cloth, a red blurb and sassy writing full of music and color. I always tell my students: never sacrifice either text or art—make them work together. Then comes the surprise—nestled between articles on art, history, events, and weddings is an article “Trigger Happy,” an article on the Ladies Gun Club. This is what keeps readers coming back to the magazine for more.

Judge Leara Rhodes comments: The cover and article on Thom Yorke won me over right away. The huge, close up photos were wonderful and gave an insight into this man that just words might not convey: that he is bigger than life. The design of the magazine overall is high paced, energetic with surprises like the piece on Josh Ritter. A magazine should always have a surprise for the reader.