7 strategies for small papers
Tim Frank • Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine
am·bi·tion n.
ambition ambition ambition
fi·nesse n.
fifinesse nesse
1. Refinement and delicacy of performance, execution, or artisanship. 2. Skillful, subtle handling of a subject matter
1. An eager or strong desire to achieve something special 2. Creating work that is impressive by its volume or intensity.
There is no denying the ambition exhibited in Chris Mihal’s Indy 500 spread. This double truck screams that the Ball State Daily News has put some resources into this one. Design ambition often involves:
The white space provided by the cutout in Harold Hanka’s page and the light typography serve to give the page a thoughtful, more intelligent feel. Design finesse often involves:
n A lot of work. n Shifting resources from routine tasks to the big project. n Lots of planning and lead time. These are not deadline pages.
You can put equal effort into all your projects and have a nice design batting average or you can take a really big swing once in a while and try to hit that home run. The cost: Many man-hours of design time. Something will have to give while you are on the big project, so some other work will have to get less attention.
n Increased white space, with pages that can
breathe visually.
n Reserved, “classical” typography, usually a
lighter use of your news fonts. This is something that everyone can do to some degree. It looks deceptively easy when it’s well done. Of all the techniques of creative design, it is also the least offensive to conservative management. The cost: A little more newsprint and maybe a little more design time than pouring the story on the page.
intuition intuition
in·tu·i·tion n.
intuition
ty·pog·ra·phy n.
typography typography typography
1. The art designing with type. 2. In this case, the art of illustrating stories with type.
1. The act or faculty of designing outside the use of rational processes. 2. Design with a sense of something not evident or deducible; an impression.
The guy running across the combination of shaved head and globe works on levels that defy explanation in this page by Le Soleil’s Marc Duplain. Design intuition often involves:
This page by Alexander Merida completes the heart with text for the cover story of el Periodico, Guatemala. Design typography often involves:
n Letting go of logic. n Learning to trust your instinct and tap into
the non-linear side of your brain. Not everyone is wired to work this way. The cost: Some word editors will be less likely to “get it” than readers. A trust will have to be built up in some cases. You may have to ease into this one.
n Playing the form of the words against the meaning of the
words.
n Manipulation of words and text blocks into shapes.
This is the ultimate blending of content and art, when the content becomes the art. Care should be taken to balance the readability of the text with the visual effect. The cost: This is sometimes a hard sell to conservative management, but it can make a very effective illustration when traditional art isn’t available or is cost prohibitive.
function function
func·tion n.
function
il·lus·tra·tion n.
illustration illustration illustration
1.Duty of telling the story as clearly as possible. 2. All elements serve a deliberate purpose of advancing the information or tone of the story.
1. The act of clarifying or explaining. 2. Visual material used to clarify or explain the content of a story.
The large arrows in Ryan Ford’s page clearly illustrate the shift in jobs and also function to help the package dominate the page.
The art in Mike Rice’s Harry Potter package doesn’t just illustrate the story. It becomes the story package in a big way. Design illustration often involves:
n Integrating the art with the story instead
Design function often involves: of just flowing the text around a picture box.
n Informational text layering, info boxes
and graphics.
n Looking for the metaphor that explains
the story in a way that text can’t. If you are not an artist you can put your efforts into finding art, collaborating with your photographers or creating art on your flatbed scanner. The cost: Web sites like KRTDirect and Eyewire offer illustrations a la carte for reasonable fees, $30 and up. Arttoday.com offers unlimited art for about a hundred dollars a year, but you have to be willing to dig through a lot of junk to find the useful stuff.
n Graphic techniques that help illustrate
the concept of the story. This is simply good news design. Readers understand content more clearly when it is presented visually. Having more visual elements on the page also adds more energy to your pages. The cost: Again some more newsprint, a bit more design time, some research and collaboration with your reporters.
in·no·va·tion n.
innovation innovation innovation
1. The act of introducing something new. 2. Design in a new way.
RESOURCES: All of the pages in this presentation are taken from newspagedesigner.com. Thanks to all who have participated.
This page by Fabio Sales let’s the reader decide which is the top story.
Design innovation often involves:
n Designing in a way that’s new to you or your
paper.
n Taking some risks.
It often takes as much skill to sell your ideas to your paper as it does to perform the design when being innovative. There are no examples of proven success. Readers will be blown away when it really works. The cost: Like the title says, ideas are free, but some efforts will be spent selling your ideas. Not everything will fly but persistence will pay off.