Overused trend in newspaper design and infographics?

The judges at the Society of News Design 31 spotted a widespread trend in the many submissions from this year and even gave it a name: BARN = Big-Ass Red Numbers

I think this trend has been underway for quite a few years. I still remember the way The Guardian made their 9/11 – graphic coverage. BARN’s all over. Maybe someone have even earlier examples?

Judging from the many examples in the competition this year however, it could be just the right time to start thinking, if we are getting close to an overused cliché rather than a trend.

Do we really need all these numbers enlarged like this? In my own opinion I could see the use of BARN’s or just BAN’s (the colour isn’t important) going down quite a lot without me missing them.

Not adding to the understanding
When numbers are enlarged like this, I think most readers disconnects them from the story – they act as a visual element (that’s why designers love them) rather than as part of the story. They are just an easy way to get some contrast on the page -making the whole thing look prettier, but not adding to the understanding.

Do we need to ban the BANs?

Mark Friesen made a collection of the examples he could find at the SND 31 -competition: