Salyer wins first-place award for page design in 2023 NFPW national contest

by Agnes Geiger

Hope Salyer, Stockbridge Community News managing editor, received a 2023 first-place national award for newspaper page design in the National Federation of Press Women’s Communications Contest.

Salyer, who also works as a reporter and page designer for SCN, received the honor for  “2022 Top Ten Seniors” on pages 30-31 in SCN’s June 2022 edition. The layout featured photos and information on the top members of the Stockbridge High School Class of 2022.

“I was honored to receive the NFPW first-place award for page design,” Salyer said. “Without our great community, and the awesome SCN staff and volunteers, we couldn’t have an award-winning paper. It truly is a team effort, and I’m looking forward to continuing the growth of SCN.”

Joan Tucker, president of the SCN board of directors, called Salyer’s win “amazing.”
“The SCN board is honored by Hope’s NFPW first-place national award in page design,” Tucker said. “Her time and creativity really make our small community paper stand out.

Tucker also praised Salyer’s commitment to SCN.
“I personally admire Hope’s dedication, as a young woman, to the Stockbridge Community News and board,” Tucker said. “We couldn’t do it without her.”

To qualify for the national contest, Salyer placed first in the newspaper page design category in the at-large contest that drew entries from Michigan and 18 other states without a state contest. Nearly 1,800 entries were submitted in the various categories of the NFPW contest this year. Winners were announced June 24 at the NFPW National Conference in Cincinnati.

Salyer’s winning pages had a black background with white type. Large cursive gold headlines reading “2022 Top Ten Seniors” and “Congratulations Seniors” could be found at the top and bottom of the pages. Each senior’s info was set apart with an individual photo and paragraph or two listing honors and future plans. Beaded gold ribbon accents with tassels added a decorative flair.

Salyer said she created the winning pages using her usual process for page design.
“For those pages, I usually start by searching for a background that I can use,” Salyer said.
“I found that background using Canva, and I made some edits to it to create room for the photos.

“From what I remember, I created the headline in Canva as well, then I downloaded the file as a PDF, and did the photo placement and captions in inDesign with the rest of the layout,” she continued.

The judge in the at-large contest described Salyer’s layout as “dynamic” with use of the headline font as the top element.

“The inviting headline draws the reader in to read about the seniors,” the judge said. “The use of the background enhances the overall design.”

NFPW is a nationwide organization of women and men pursuing communications careers in print and electronic journalism, books,  public relations,  photography, radio, television, graphics and others.