AAN the nominees are …

The Association of Alternative Newsmedia, a national consortium of more than 100 news organizations, announced the finalists for its annual AAN Awards, which recognize “the reporters, artists, columnists, photographers, web producers, editorial assistants, creative directors, and editors of the alternative news industry who stubbornly refuse to do anything but kick ass, week after week, regardless of what the conventional narrative says,” according to the contest description.

Mountain Xpress
’ Oct. 24, 2012 cover story on Moogfest is a finalist in the Design category, for Editorial Layout (circulation under 50,000).

Xpress’ submitted material included this cover design by staffer John Zara and the Xpress Art and Design team:

According to Zara, he wanted the cover image to reflect the otherworldly effects of electronic music, while maintaining the very worldly facts of the engineering and technology behind Moog’s innovative equipment. “Moog is such a big influence in the music scene, so I wanted the cover to portray that while encompassing the captivating power of electronic music in relation to its listeners.” Initial designs featured a robot theme instead of a spaceship, and a close second to the “Fantastic Voyager” headline was “Beam Me Up, Bobbie.”

The layout portion of the submission, produced by designer Nathanael Roney, incorporated the cover’s color pallete, as well as its UFO and geometric themes:

“Given the size and attention of the package, I knew it needed a particular vehicle,” Roney says. “So before I came to work that week, I flipped through some magazines, saw something I liked (that I could develop) and planned an approach. After allowing John’s cover to dictate both the colors and typeface, I applied the solution to each piece of content. The remainder of the process essentially becomes an act of defense, yielding the demands of function while sustaining the bar of what looks good.”

AAN Award winners will be announced at the organization’s July 11 conference. Keep up with the results at http://www.altweeklies.com, where you can also view the many other fine nominees doing great work in media across the country.

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