Baltimore Magazine Wins CRMA Award for Best Feature Design

Every year, local magazines from around the country gather at the City Regional Magazine Association (CRMA) conference to share ideas, network with peers, and award the best of the best in the industry.

On Monday night, June 4, CRMA members gathered for an award ceremony at the Downtown Marriott in New Orleans to honor the best in editorial, design, and digital work from 2017. Baltimore magazine earned eight finalist nominations: one nomination for Civic Journalism, one nomination for Special Issue, one nomination for Spread Design, two nominations for Feature Design, one nomination for Ancillary: Weddings, one nominations for Multiplatform Storytelling, and one for E-Newsletters. 

We are thrilled to announce that Baltimore took top honors for Feature Design with its July 2017 story “Cake Walk” about the 25 best places for crab cakes in the area, which was designed by creative director Amanda White-Iseli, photographed by Scott Suchman, with lettering by Tobias Saul and illustrations by Nana Rausch. The story was edited by food and dining editor Jane Marion.

“This design presents a lot of information in an engaging and accessible way,” CRMA judges said about the feature design. “The weathered sign uses fun type and imagery to set the tone and invite readers in. Repeating the wooden background ties the feature together nicely.”

Of course, Baltimore was also honored to be nominated in Spread Design for “The Great Outdoors” with art direction by White-Iseli and illustrations by Eleanor Grosch. In addition, “All The Right Moves,” also art directed by White-Iseli, was nominated for Spread Design. In the editorial categories, “Tomorrowland” written by senior Ron Cassie was nominated for Civic Journalism and “How Baltimore Invented the Modern World,” also edited by Cassie, was nominated for Special Issue. The Spring/Summer 2017 edition of Baltimore Bride, edited by Janelle Diamond and designed by Staci Lanham, was nominated in the category of Ancillary: Weddings.

In the digital category, “This Is What Activism Looks Like,” was nominated for Multiplatform Storytelling with design by digital production designer Aaron Hope, photography and videos by former director of photography David Colwell, and video by audience engagement manager Meredith Herzing and former intern Charlie Knott. Baltimore was also nominated for its E-Newsletter “Local Flavor,” which is deployed by digital content coordinator Michelle Harris.

The contest is a 33-year-old national competition and has been coordinated by the University of Missouri School of Journalism on behalf of CRMA.