Creative App – Best User Picture

VisualLeader – the best magazine and internet content

Photos, advertising, websites and editorial design: a high-profile celebration of Germany’s creative scene in Hamburg’s Deichtor Halls.

VisualLeader – the best in German magazines is the gallery’s annual exhibition featuring absorbing photo galleries, captivating snapshots, original advertisements, creative websites and much more besides.

Staged for the seventh time in the Deichtor Hall’s House of Photography, the 2009 exhibition showcased photos, features, adverts and online content from the LeadAwards winners and nominees – in other words, the pick of the crop from the German magazine industry.

The exhibition includes all the pieces which have been nominated for this year’s coveted LeadAwards, Germany’s foremost accolade for print and online media. Together, the works present a remarkable display of the creative talents and potential of the German magazine and advertising sector.

VisualLeader is not only the largest exhibition of its kind in Germany, it is also assembled in a unique way. Unlike other competitions for the creative industries, there is no specific application process. Instead, an independent panel of experts trawls through every back issue of the 200-odd German magazine titles for the year and selects those works worthy of an award. These are then assessed and scored by a grand jury of notable figures in the industry. This makes for a selection and judgement process that is both totally independent and truly comprehensive, meaning that that year’s gold, silver or bronze award-winners can justifiably claim to be among the best of the best.

The unique format of the VisualLeader exhibition presents a snapshot of Germany’s creative scene. It highlights trends, sets the standard for the future and inspires innovation in print and online media, showing what lies ahead and what is here to stay.