Wht is newsletter popular?

• Some marketers find them an ideal commuication link with a wide range of audiences. They can be used vertically and targeted at an audience within a company. Or they may be utilized horizontally and aimed at a specific group with a shared interest.
• Since newsletter are usually brief and to the point, it can be aligned easily with audience interests.
• Messages in newsletter can be tailored neatly to the situation, time, location, and audience
• Newsletter often have their own personality and may come closer to one-to-one commuication than other media.
• Newsletter contain specific information that cannot be found elsewhere, inside information.

Designing Newsletter

Newsletter initially provided "news" to their readers via a "letter" format. For the most part they were informal, unpretencious and direct.

many of today's newsletter more closely resemble a magazine or newspaper than their original form. This is particularly due to the format - usually 8 1/2 x 11 inches, which also the standard for magazine.

The list of possibilities are endless: square format, horizontal formats, extremely vertical formats. Folded panels that offer multiple pages on a single sheet of paper - brochure style.

The design options almost endless because software programs can adopt to any size or configuration and finesse even the most most demanding problems into submission.

Getting started

1. Establish your audience and design to it
2. What is the purpose of the newsletter?
3. How will you fulfill your mission? : What components and newsletter parts will you adopt to fulfill your purpose nad to meet your readers' need?
4. What is the image you want to impart via the newsletter?
5. How will the typography be used?
6. What is the budget?
7. Using architecture as blueprint, think physically

Physical Issues

• Decide upon a format and a specific size - standard 8 1/2 x 11 inch
• Some newsletters are called magaletters, are actually more closely related to magazine or tabloid newspapers in format. Magaletters are a hybrids mix of newsletter, magazines, and tabloid newspapers.
• If the newsletter is a self-mailer, be sure to build a "mailing side" or panel for the address label.
• Paper is also an important "physical" considerations, but make sure to select a paper that is bright enough.

Column Options

1. Designer can decide on a two column format or a three column format. But for newsletter that is larger than 8 1/2 x 11 inch format it can have more columns.
2. Try to restrict the space between columns to 2 picas or less. Too much white space between columns can destroy the unity of the page by creating an alley of white space in the middle of the page.

Newsletter Components

The Nameplate

• It should clearly identify the newsletter and imparts its image, but not overpower other elements the page. A good rule of thumb is that it should not exceed 20 percent of the page.

The Folio Line

• The newsletter design should make it easy for the reader to find out by whom, when and where the publication is produced.
• The standard practice for the most four-page newsletters is to include the volume number, issue date,and date in a folio/dateline which is normally located just below the nameplete or logo.

The newsletter cover

• Tends to resemble a miniaturized newspaper front page
• Usually the cover contains a nameplate, folio/date lines, art, one or two stories and perhaps a preview feature to tease important inside stories, and perhaps a preview feature to tease important inside stories.

Typography: The Newsletter Stylebook

• A graphic stylebook is crucial to the success of any newsletter. Remember: less is more. Two or three typafaces are plenty
• Running the text or bady copy justified makes the publications more traditional and formal. Many designers prefer to run newsletter text ragged (flush left) to minimize hyphenation, keep the copy more personal, and to open up a page.
• be consistent with the stylebook
• Most newsletter use serif or roman face for copy but there are few designers that lean toward modern look of sans serifs.
• Headlines should harmonized but stand out from the text type. Newsletter header should be kept small, usually 12-18 points (try not to exceed 30-36 points)

Things to AVOID

• Crowded pages.
• Dull, statics layouts with little accent or variety.
• Buzy pages with too many gingerbread in designs
• Poor quality clip art that clutters the pages and cheapens the image and look of the newsletter.
• Drab black and white layouts. The use of spot color can enliven a design when solid and screened color are added to rules, nemaplates, boxes, tints, and sidebars - at a minimal increase in cost.
• Bad photography. Photos that you can't make out.
• Color photos that have to berun in black and white.
• Group photos shot at distance. In this case, faces are hardly recognizable, usually because they are too small, out of focus over-or underexposed, or a combination of all three
• Tiny photos that might've had impact had they been enlarge.
• Inconsistency in design
• Inconsistent use of typography
• Small, difficult-to-read typefaces for body copy
• Too many different typefaces. Three faces for a newsletter are plenty
• Messy layouts with problems such as headless stories, odd-shaped text blocks and quirky layouts. Modular design and simple grid can help order and structure the page.

MAGAZINE DESIGN

The four Fs of Magazine design.

• function
• formula
• format
• frame

Function

The mission the magazine should accomplish

Internal, external, specific in terms of interest or culture, gender, career, science
Internal: meant for the members of an organization or employees of a company or its members?
External: aimed at specialized audience?

Formula

Formula is the unique and relatively stable combination of the magazine’s various elements – articles, departments, reviews, interviews, even cartoons – that make up each issues.

These formula elements include the type of articles to be used: fiction, uplifting essays, investigative reporting, humor, interview, reviews and etc.

The formula also includes the kind of artwork that will be utilized – illustrations, information graphics, and photography or other art.

Format

- The format includes the basic size and shape of the magazine plus the typographic constants and physical features that remain basically the same from one issue from the next.

- These constants include the cover design, masthead, interior logos, book break, placement of regular features (departments, columns, and so on), folio line style, and techniques for handling jumps.

- Considering the following when configuring magazine format:

1. the press capacity of the printer who produces the magazine and the most efficient way to use paper so you have minimum of waste.
2. Ease of handling and mailing
3. Contents also affect the magazine’s format. Large photo album require elbow room, so a larger page size may prove essential to a publications with extensive and dynamic art. Magazine generally determine format classifications by page size:
   • Miniature: 4 1/2” x 6”
   • Pocket: 6” x 9”
   • Normal format: 8 1/2” x 11”
   • Pictorial: 10 1/2” x 13”
   • Sunday supplement: 11” x 13”

Frames

Magazines frames are the outer page margins, the white space between columns of type and pages, and white space used to literally “frame” the various elements such as headers, titles, crossing heads, bylines, and art.

Magazine design - Assembling the parts into whole

• The cover
  
  1. Most important component of a magazine
  2. Basics elements:
     
     
     1. Arts
     2. Nameplate
     3. Date/folio line
     4. Cover lines or blurbs ( a short piece of writing that praises and promotes something)
     5. Price/UPC scan

• Cover typography
  
  1. The typography that shapes the nameplate should be distinctive, appropriate, consistent, and large enough to flag its audience.

• Cover art
  
  1. Cover art may appear as typography, illustrations or photography

• Table of content
  
  1. A good table of content works like a good menu. Well organizes.
  2. Visually it should reflect the book.
  3. This area is also logical place to position the publication’s mast head, a letter from the editor, or an introductory comment on a theme issue, or to preview art or stories for the next issue.
  4. Many magazines also like to reserve a spot for the cover art – usually thumbnail image of the cover – along with a short paragraph and photographer’s credit.

• Feature Stories
  
  1. Feature article are the main draw of the magazine

Magazine bindings

3 basic bindings:
1. Saddle stapling / saddle stitching – opens up easily, lies flat on table.
2. Side stapling / side stitching – permanent binding
3. Perfect binding / glued – makes things more flexible ( it allows the insertion of ad supplements in any size anywhere in the magazine.

Go to NEWSLETTER AND MAGAZINE DESIGN additional notes