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The redesign experience was uplifting and encouraging. This project was an infusion of optimism, excitement, and opportunity. It challenged our thinking, our creative talent, and our reporting style. I’m very pleased with our ‘final product’ but fully understand that producing a newspaper in a changing world, with changing readership habits, is never considered final. We certainly couldn’t have done it without you and I quiver to think of the outcome had we chosen that path.
Ed is far more than a designer. He is a consultant who teaches you to redesign your thinking, your processes and your people.
We are doing more than merely sustaining the new design—the product is flourishing. What makes this redesign special is that this project was about much more than appearance. While I have had many proud moments in a long newspaper career, what I'm feeling today is pretty special. The transformation in High Point has been incredible.
Not only are we happy with the cosmetic changes you helped us come up with for our market, we are still benefiting from the many tips and lessons you taught our staff on ways to put out a better newspaper. We have benefitted greatly from the general newsroom operational ideas you gave us on planning, organization and more. It's been a great experience. It's been a great success.
I chose you to help us because of your newsroom experience and your commitment to content and to planning. Your design skills were obvious but I knew we needed a seasoned journalist to guide our efforts and to keep the project on track. We couldn't have made a better choice. We've got a great new newspaper—and it's a daily tribute to your design skills and your leadership.
He works hard to bring the staff to a position of ownership of the project. When all is said and done, the actual design itself is almost anticlimatic—you know what you’re going to put in your newspaper, where it will go in the paper and how you will display that to best advantage. I heartily recommend Ed Henninger, not only as a newspaper designer, but as a journalist who wants the best newspapers you can produce.
When the gigantic copy of our front page was displayed on the big screen as the design award was called out, you could hear "oohs" and "aahs" all over the room. People are consistently floored when they first see this design, just as we were. It is the best thing that has happened to our paper in the 11 years I've been here. You have my lasting thanks not only for what you've done for the look of our paper but for how much you have helped me understand the principles of design. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors, though I know that luck will have nothing to do with it.
Initially, there was ambivalence toward the redesign among some managers which, for you, made it an exercise in diplomacy as well as professional expertise. You handled the situation with patience, understanding and humor, and soon had everyone excited. The final result was a powerful new image for a 100+ year old newspaper, an image that is applauded both in the community and throughout the industry.
Through your guidance, the project was also about overall content and how we go about gathering the news. Today the newsroom operates with more enthusiasm and vitality, producing much better content than ever before...and on time. The quality of content is beginning to match the quality of our design.
With Ed, a redesign is a learning experience even for the seasoned editor, reporter, designer or publisher. His newsroom experience was invaluable. As we changed our look we were able to change the way we planned our paper. This year for the very first time we won an award for best newspaper design in our category—and we are thrilled! The Green Valley News is a better publication because of Ed.
As an outside voice who understands our business and our target audience, Ed was essential to the redesign. He made us think about things we had not considered. He pushed us to pick up the pace when things started to get bogged down. He came up with a new flag design that met our needs—without confusing our brand awareness. And, most importantly, he turned the ideas we had envisioned into a reality that exceeded my high expectations.
Ed is more than a designer. He's a newsman who understands what it takes to put out a newspaper. Most importantly, Ed is mindful of the time and equipment constraints most editors face so he doesn't propose design elements that are too difficult to produce. He understands when content should drive design and when design should drive content. That's a balance in short supply in this business.
The redesign of The Citizens' Voice and Sunday Voice was the single largest editorial project ever undertaken at our newspaper. And it has been a resounding success. We have heard nothing but positive comments from our readers.
Our design was the talk of the convention—everyone I spoke to
bubbled over about how the paper looks. I was proud as can be, of course, and I think it's safe to say that we’re setting the bar really high for all our colleagues now, thanks to the redesign.
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