The Arizona Press Club is pleased to announce that Maria Camou of the Arizona Daily Star has been named 2016’s Arizona Designer of the Year.
Judge Andrea Zagata, a page designer for the New York Times, said of Camou, “this designer has a clear voice. I see intelligent photo editing and clean design free of gimmicks. The “wall” project is well paced and planned, consistent throughout. This designer has a good sense of balancing visuals and type and is an intelligent visual editor. While some designers would ‘jazz up’ these news pages with different type treatments or colored backgrounds, the designer made the very smart decision to let the content speak. It is interesting, compelling content that does not need to be anything more than simple.”
First runner-up:
Chiara Bautista
Arizona Daily Star
“These graphics and illustrations are whimsical and fun. As a reader of this newspaper, I would very much look forward to seeing what this designer has up her sleeve next. The many styles of illustration to fit different types of content are very impressive. From features to sports to news, this designer can do it all and I believe readers benefit from her eye and dedication. Any paper would be lucky to have such a versatile artist.”
Second runner-up:
Rick Konopka
Arizona Republic
“A clean, simple designer with a clear vision. This designer is taking sometimes complicated topics and making them visually interesting. This portfolio has simple type treatments that are well-executed. The opinion page is in my opinion one of the hardest ones to design well, and this designer pulls it off in a tasteful way. His creativity is well-used in this publication and he is clearly an asset to this staff.”