 |
Thinking, tools and tips for a better designed newspaper. Columns will be available here for a full year.
Putting headlines and captions into photos just to save space? Not only does it not make good design sense—it just doesn't make good sense. Worse: It's anti-sensical.
November 4 is gonna be here before we know it. If you want to do the job right, begin planning for the election—now.
The design of a news page requires the combination of visuals, design elements, text and negative space. We all know that—but we have to take care to use all of these elements in the proper proportion.
Ask yourself the questions your readers would want answered—then go about the business of getting the answers and offering them in an easy-to-understand form.
No designer wants to offer readers a page that's a sea of gray type. But we also have to be careful when placing visual elements into a package.
It's happened to you: You've got an odd-shaped add on your page. You can complain—or you can show just how good a designer you really are.
With more powerful software comes the "cuzican," a design or an element that we can create—so we do. Some of these require careful execution. And some are strange at best.
Readers don't expect you to design your front page just so it looks different from issue to issue. But if you want to encourage variation, try creating some models from which to work.
Some think it's only a sign of small-mindedness. But that's true only if the consistency is there for the sake of consistency. If it clears your design of clutter, it's more than worth the effort.
Gang your captions and readers become confused and frustrated. Why put them through that?
Photos speak to us in many ways. Some even tell us where they should go on the page.
Focus groups give us the chance to chat with readers and advertisers and learn—directly from them—what matters most to them about our newspaper.
If you're a just-too-busy editor at a small newspaper, that doesn't mean you have to be just-too-busy to handle what the job really requires. It helps if you take the time to decide what matters—and what doesn't.
The phrase applies to small-newspaper editors. They are editors. Reporters. Managers. Designers. Receptionists. Photographers. And a few other things.
|
|
