Editors and designers of large, well established icons of magazine design like Wired and New York were stunned a few days ago when the SPD (Society of Publication Designers) gave its prestigious Magazine of the Year award to a little magazine produced by a few volunteers.

Eight by Eight is a wonderful quarterly publication dedicated to global football (soccer for U.S. followers) that has been consistently delivering beautiful design and great stories. They use a lot of illustration and striking typography. It’s refreshing to see it now that magazines hardly use great Illustration anymore. They are beautiful and add a layer of commentary on the topics and personalities involved that a photo would never achieve.

With our friend John Grimwade as contributing Graphics Director, you can always expect brilliant, clear infographics with original ideas. Regardless of whether you enjoy the sport, the work of Editor in Chief Robert Priest and Creative Director Grace Lee (the founding partners of design studio Priest+Grace, who also designed Howler, more focused on North American soccer) and the rest of the team deserved such recognition. Congratulations! Here a few nice pages.