'IoS' wins top design award for second year running

The Independent on Sunday has been judged the world's best designed newspaper for the second year running by the prestigious Society of Newspaper Design. It is only the second time in the award's 24-year history that it has been won in consecutive years by the same newspaper.

The Independent on Sunday has been judged the world's best designed newspaper for the second year running by the prestigious Society of Newspaper Design. It is only the second time in the award's 24-year history that it has been won in consecutive years by the same newspaper.

The judges commended the design team, led by the IoS's art director, Carolyn Roberts, and praised the newspaper for its celebration of language, its grace and elegance and for its confident use of illustration and photography. "This publication," they said, "lives up to its Independent name."

The IoS has also received a record number of nominations in the British Press Awards, the "Oscars" of the newspaper industry. Our chief political commentator, Steve Richards, has been shortlisted for the Political Journalist of the Year award, and executive editor Catherine Pepinster has been nominated for Property Writer of the Year.

Other nominations are Severin Carrell for Health Writer of the Year, James Morrison for Showbusiness Reporter of the Year, and Jeremy Atiyah for Travel Writer of the Year. Heather Tomlinson has been nominated for Young Journalist of the Year, and both Timothy Allen and David Sandison for Photographer of the Year.

The British Press Awards nominations come on top of other major achievements in the past year. The IoS was named environmental newspaper of the year in the British Environment Awards, and its environment editor Geoffrey Lean honoured as Environment Reporter of the Year. Lean also won the Martha Gellhorn Prize for his coverage of the foot-and-mouth crisis.

The IoS was also voted best designed European newspaper in the European Design Awards.

The accolades come at a time of increased investment in the IoS. From next Sunday, 2 March, we will be adding significantly to our cultural coverage with an expansion of the arts and books pages in LifeEtc. The space dedicated to travel will also be increased with the launch of Time Off, a new 12-page broadsheet section focusing on weekend breaks, days out, motoring, health and fitness.