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Links to top columns on newspaper design, the design process and the consultant.
Ed Henninger's columns are carried in the bulletin of the Southern Newspaper Publishers' Assn., Publishers' Auxiliary and press association newsletters throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Years ago, the editor of a newspaper I was redesigning asked: "What is the single most important thing my staff can do to make our redesign a success?" My immediate reply: "Redesign the way you think."
Without solid newsroom leadership, nothing you do to improve your newspaper's design will succeed for the long term. A redesign is only as strong as the newsroom that builds and nurtures it. And a newsroom is only as strong as its leadership.
When you sign on to work with a consultant, it doesn't mean the publisher has any less work to do. That's because some consultants-including the one I see in my mirror every morning-can be fairly demanding.
Our goal as journalists should be to bring meaning to readers' lives. We do that by offering them the total package: writing, photos, graphics, illustration, editing and design.
Don't look now, but that redesign you did a few years ago may be swirling down a hole. Even the best redesign can erode if it's not cared for.
Before you claim that design really matters at your newspaper, take a look at the paper itself. See what it tells you. You may be sadly surprised.
Risk is valuable. It helps us to grow. But design risks need to be grounded upon our knowledge of what works and what doesn't.
Some consultants may not have your best interests at heart. When you work with a consultant, listen closely to what he says. But also listen for those phrases that let you know you've got a problem.
If your goal is the Promised Land of great page design, here are some rules you may want to consider while you’re on your journey through the wilderness.
We journalists believe that the solutions to problems of the future lie open in the pages of the past. So, then, why do we ignore that past on our own pages?
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