When design consultant Ron Reason browsed the newspaper display at AAN’s Toronto Convention last week — where he was a presenter — he saw a lot of “squatty, square dimensions” and “covers [that] often sing, but the insides too often look, feel and smell like overpacked luggage.”

That was until he picked up copies of The Stranger, which he found so engaging, he decided to write an illustrated ode to it.

Among his findings: Clever house ads, superior design work, the foresight to brand their columnists (a topic on which David Carr hit upon during Saturday’s session), and an innovative approach to almost every aspect of the paper. Overall, Reason was left with the impression that The Stranger “looks like it would be so cool to work for.”

So kudos to the intern that was tasked with packing the boxes and deciphering the international shipping forms to send those papers from Seattle to Toronto. Your hard work was not in vain.

Bonus: Don’t miss Reason’s other post, An Alt-Weekly Wish List, in which he offers additional advice to AAN papers.