Things to consider
The total design concept : - The designer now sees the page as a blank canvas upon which to create an effective and appropriate design that speaks to the reader- one that tells story through words, photographs and design.
Functional Design Strategy
The modular or Mondarin format - zdesign questions has to become not how to fills columns but how to marry content and form to create an effective page that is reader - friendly, compelling, and aesthetically pleasing - a page that meshes form and content.
Mondular Plan
- Began your newspaper design by sketching and thumbnail grids made up of various combinations of rectangles.
Try to avoid multiple patterns of square shapes, as they may appear more predictable and less interesting.
Remember emphasis, good balance, interesting proportions, good sequencing to move the eye of the reader, and unity. - Flip sketches, or even hold them up to a mirror for additional grid perspectives and layout possibilities.
- Remember only one module should dominate the page. Most often this space carries the artwork and the lead story. This module should be place above the fold within a broadsheet design, usually the upper left or upper right - due to optical center and normal eye flow
- Normally each module should be self-contained with a rule to unify and define it.
Usually, a hairline, half-point or 1-point rule works just the (4 points is the maximum). Black is standard color for key line but colors may be use as well. - the page should be thought as packages of information.
Elements should be arranged to transmit the story or information as clearly as possible. - Crop visuals tightly and appropriately to give impact and more power to the imagery.
Remember, we are visually predisposed and pictures is worth at least a thousand words, so powerful photographs should be run large and prominently placed on the page - Give the art, headlines and other page elements breathing room, use white space generously, and avoid cramming elements together.
To be a successful newspaper and its various sections must have 3 qualities
- It must contain information people want and need
- It must attract the audience
- It must be interesting
Redesign and the Process
- Typography and graphics can tell the reader a lot about the publications that being produced
- Remember that typography and graphics can provide instantaneous identification for a publication.
Identity is as important to newspaper as advertising or any product - Typography and graphics can help reader spot the various department, sections or other publication contents. They may assist the reader to sort out the stories and prioritizes the material that is clearly understand which stories are most important and which are minor pieces
- Simpler is better
Making Design Decisions
- Examine the suggestions made for the overall design and compare them to your goals
- Began examining the speeches, such as the front page architecture and the area to be reworked
- Build a general page architecture you feel accomplishes all you need to do and apply it to the section pages and the inside page of your design.
- Modular design basically consists of arranging stones in separate rectangular modules throughout the page
- Type should not zig zag across the page
- The modules need to be arrange properly so stories sit logically in term of theor placement, size, and importance
- The mission is to create reader-friendly page.
- Use white space effectively
Newspaper Redesign and Typography
Text and Content
- The guts of the Newspaper
- The criteria for selecting a proper body type are legibility and readability
- Readability refers to the facility of the read. Size, leading, x-height, width, weight, column length, style, and type face itself all effects readability and legibility
- Legibility refers to visibility - visual perception of the type. Headlines and other display type are more legibility than readability
- Serif (or roman) type is preferred for newspaper body copy.
Serif "connect" letters. When we read, we read groups of word at a time, so some typographers surmise that serifs and appear to connect letters within word, which facilitates readability. - X-height is also important factor in readability
- Down style (capitalizing only words at the beginning of a sentence, proper nouns and acronyms) Makes for a better and easier read in text and headlines.
- Lowercase letters better shape words; this shaping is lost when type is set all uppercase
- Inherent coding with uppercase letters: capital letters normally suggest a proper noun or beginning of a sentence. In large doses, text type set all uppercase slows reading speed, retard word recognization and takes up to 30% or more space
- Smaller type may allow for additional information to be run, but if people can't read it or have to strain their eyes to decipher it, the message is wasted
- Typefaces use : Times, palatino, Caslon, Century, Bakerville, Garamond, Goudy, and Times Roman.
New faces : Miller, Walbaum, Minion, Slimbach, Granjon, Gulliver, Myriad, Nimrod, and Charter - Good typography source: Font Bureau, Adobe, Poynterfaces
Nameplates, headlines and other display type application
Nameplate (logos / flags)
* many newspaper use black letter type because of it contrast well nearly all headlines type
* on the other hand, tabloids might opt for a bold, urgent-looking logo.
Style Books
Headlines
Jumplines
Objectives of the front page design
