elements of newspaper design

7/27/2019 Elements of Newspaper Design

1/363

Elements of Newspaper Design8/10/2009Sanjay Ranade, HoD,

DCJ , UoM

1


2/363

Putting Newspaper Design into

Perspective

Content is still the carrying point. Readers want

to be able to look at the paper very quickly andknow what the news of the day is and they don't

want to be scared away.

Randy Stano director, editorial art and design Miami Herald

8/10/2009Sanjay Ranade, HoD,DCJ , UoM

2


3/363

No matter how or when news breaks, or how biga story is, the weekly or daily paper serves as amajor source of news in a community and thenation.

How the design editor places elements on thepages guides the reader as to what is the most

important news, and what is not.


3


4/363

Editors of the 1980s had become more aware of

graphics, that many newspapers had hiredgraphics specialists and that their surveys ofreaders now frequently included questions onappearance as well as on content.

It was found that as results dictated changes,

publishers became increasingly willing to acceptthe importance of appearance and allocateresources to improve it.


4


5/363

Most editors will not put graphics on apage--especially a news page--

randomly or for the sake of

decoration.


Graphics must be purposeful.

Form follows function.

Have a reason for every design element you use.

5


6/363

Because newspaper stylebooks establishguidelines--not rules--graphic journalists arequick to recognize that the standards of oneeditor or designer do not necessarily agree withthose of another.


6


7/363

Therefore form follows function may not bealways popular in newspapers as in the case ofautomobiles where some of the best designshave not been functional.


7

8


8/363

Function does not always have to inform; whenyou take these big reverse letters that featurepages use to kick off chapter headings--as it

were--the big T doesn't inform anything. But itdoes provide contrast or points of interest or a

little salesmanship.


8

9


9/363

With reference to fashion sections, where anattempt is sometimes made for a breakthroughin design, the pages sometimes have weird little

borders, or angled bars.

These don't contribute to the information or

understanding but they do serve the purpose of"salesmanship.


9

10


10/363

The design editor is faced dailywith the paradox of packaging

content simply but also thoroughlyand even elegantly.


10

11


11/363

Every day the design editor is faced with

these circumstances:

Reporters have written their stories;photographers have completed theirassignments, and the best pictures, maps and

charts have been selected for printing by thepage and section editors. After reporters,photographers and artists have created content,then designers are free to work. The questionthen arises: How is the news to be

presented best?


11

12


12/363

No matter what the news of the day has been,the reader anticipates an appropriate mix oflocal, national and international news plus newsfeatures-each presented accurately, clearly andfairly. This expectation should be complemented

by design that effectively organizes the display ofnews so the reader will be easily guided throughthe paper.


12

13


13/363

Whether design is achieved extraordinarily--byan editor making decisions about momentousnews--or ordinarily--by the operation of routinedesign decisions--newspapers achieveconsistency and flexibility through a complex

network of design principles.


13

14


14/363

WHAT THE TOTAL PAGE CONCEPT

IS AND HOW IT WORKS


14

15


15/363

Through the Total Page Concept (TPC), editorsorganize a page so that the reader can easilyidentify the importance of the news. The TotalPage Concept encompasses the relationship ofall the parts or elements needed to create a page

in a publication, such as captions for photos,headlines for news stories, the type and even thethin borders used to outline pictures or place a

box around stories and advertising.


15

16


16/363

The Total Page Concept articulatesthe fullest concept of design, on

the assumption that designsupports verbal content.


16


17/363


18/363

19


19/363

The front page provides a display of what'simportant of the day's or week's events, withlarger headlines relating to the news that affectsor may be of interest to the greatest number ofpeople.

Newspaper readers are initially attracted to theproduct whose type and words are easiest to

read and whose pictures and other graphicsmost effectively portray the news.


20


20/363

From the front page, the audience is then luredto a story on an inside page by a short headlinereferral--a "reference note."

Elements in the referral include a statementabout a story and sometimes a small photo or

other illustrative graphic enclosed in a box. In effect, the referral sells the news; it makes theinside pages appear useful enough for the reader

to make a time commitment to them.


21


21/363

The need for this "selling" function is clear: Ifthe consumer stays only momentarily with thefront or inside pages of a newspaper, then it is

less likely that the advertising--which pays thesalaries of all who are employed at thenewspaper plant--will be read.


22


22/363

TPC design must help the reader not onlythrough display, but also through the use ofgraphic elements.

These elements become a part of design in theway they are treated.



23/363

24


24/363

Symbols represent something else

by reason of convention that is :agreement among its users.


25


25/363

Picture, on the other hand, usually show objectsor things as much as they are.

However, on occasion, pictures may also be usedas symbols as in the case of specific days.


26


26/363

Both picture-symbols and word-symbols are asarbitrary in terms of relating directly to theirreferents and must be learned in the same way

that language is learned.


27


27/363

Pictures and written language

share a remarkable similarity

although they perform different

functions in graphic

communication



28/363

29


29/363

Visual images make it possible for us toconsider things, be in places where we are

not.We can deal with the imaginary, thingsthat are divorced from reality.


30


30/363

The receiver of a visual messagewho seeks to understand the

message must readit. Reading may be defined as extracting

information from visual images. This means that both pictures and the words areread.

This reading, however, is different.


31


31/363

The eye scans along a written line, makingfrequent stops to take in a few words. Only four or five words can be handled at each

stop. In order for a reader to extract information froma picture, which is a larger area compared to the

four or five words of text at a time, the eye of thereader must scan a picture, making frequentstops.

The information taken in at these stops is thensynthesized into a meaningful whole to extractinformation.


32


32/363

Of the two types of images, word-symbols aremore basic to effective graphic communication.

Language is, after all, the primary means of

human communication, and words play animportant role in thinking and decision making.


33


33/363

The written word is an extension of the spokenword.

However, transforming written speech intowriting bypasses facial expression, tonalinflection, and gestures.

Therefore, it is necessary in presenting a

written message to make up for this lossby putting words in as effective a visual

form as possible.


34


34/363

Printing is the means ofreproducing visual images for mass

communication.

Form is inextricably involved withmessage content the meanings orideas being communicated.


35


35/363

The writer works with a vocabulary of words anda syntax,which refers to the ordering of wordsinto structures that show the word relationships.

The writer has certain ideas in mind andstructures the word codes so that they will giverise to the same thoughts in the readers mind.


36


36/363

The designer of printed messages also workswith a vocabulary consisting of points, lines,shapes, textures and tones.

Like the writer the designer can organise theseelements into a structure or form to direct thereaders thought processes.


37


37/363

The effectiveness of a printed

message, then, is the result of thewriter and the designer expressing a

common meaning


38


38/363

In different ways, the three mostimportant designs-informal, or

contrast and balance; brace orfocused; and modular or quadrant-

manifest TPC principles


39


39/363

Informal, or Contrast and Balance-

Elements in an informal design are displayedaccording to their importance or reader interest,

beginning at the top right (where the right-

handed majority of readers look first), then topleft, back to and down the right-hand side,across the bottom to bottom left, and then to thecenter of the page. This arrangement follows theorder that most readers will use to look at the

page, before exiting at bottom right.


40


40/363

The goal is to balance the text and graphics awayfrom the page's center in varying distances.

While an attractive informal page design is an

achievable goal, the difficulty lies in not creating"walls" that would split the page in two or threesections.


8/10/2009S j R d H D

41


41/363

Brace, or Focused

The key aspect of the brace design concept is asingle element used to create immediate focuson the major story. The top story is braced by the

other parts of the page; elements such asheadlines and photos are set much smaller thanthe No. 1 story. On all page designs, the No. 1story should immediately arrest the reader'sattention.


8/10/2009Sanjay Ranade HoD

42


42/363

Brace design does this very well, but problemsarise on a routine news day when there is nostory that warrants a big display. Unless

justified, the top story's use as the dominantelement will give it too much emphasis.



43


43/363

Modular, or Quadrant

The modular page is broken into mostlyhorizontal shapes with vertical shapes tocomplement the design. A dominant rectangle is

usually located above the page's midpoint, withlarge photos and illustrations adjacent. Whitespace is used to create a breather, especially

around the headlines. Many of today'snewspapers have adopted the modular designbecause it places the stories and graphic

elements in neat rectangular shapes.



44


44/363

Modular design allows for bold and lightheadlines next to each other, sometimes withone of the stories set in a standard-column width

and one in an adjacent column set in a box. Also,modular design encourages the editor to placerelated stories and graphics adjacent to one

another.


8/10/2009Sanjay Ranade, HoD,

45


45/363

y In the modern newspaper's effort to have massappeal while also targeting metropolitan andsuburban markets with different editions, a variety ofgraphic elements are being utilized to make a moreattractive product.

y

These include printing special topic pages andsections, printing photos larger, a greater use ofreference boxes atop page one and on inside section

pages, more use of short digests of information,printing small thumbnail photos along with stories,and the use of six wider columns rather than eightnarrow columns per page.



46


46/363

y Like any other competitive product, newspapersconstantly look for ways to appear similar to theircompetition in that they produce a vehicle to portray

the news, but also dissimilar so they can attract theirown committed readers.

yWhen two newspapers in the same city are produced

by the same management group, the factors thatusually bring readers to one paper or the other arethe work schedules of the population and the

delivery time of the publication.

j yDCJ , UoM


47


47/363

Therefore, the two newspapers may be differentonly in their use of headline type or captiontype--but seldom text type--while designing their

papers according to similar guidelines. This is aconvenience for the editors and designers

because it obviates having two extremely

different design styles.

DCJ , UoM

8/10/2009Sanjay Ranade, HoD,DCJ U M

48


48/363

MAKING THE DESIGN SYSTEM WORK

Some newspapers have evolved from a weekly to

a daily. Others remain a weekly, but have grownlarger. On all of these changing publications,adjustments in staff and management

philosophy occur. Each editor of the paper andeach specialized section sets up a design identity,

beginning with the familiar style of page one.

DCJ , UoM

8/10/2009Sanjay Ranade, HoD,DCJ UoM

49


49/363

Day after day, the reader is presented with anorderly package of news, features and stories insuch special-interest areas as sports, business

and life style.

But if the paper's typography and art are to

look like they have indeed been publishedas a single entity, a subtle but unifieddesign philosophy should be obvious to

the reader.

DCJ , UoM


50


50/363

Design is the deliberate arrangement

of objects to achieve a predetermined

effect.

In graphics, that effect is the two-

dimensional representation of an

abstract idea

DCJ , UoM


51


51/363

The newspaper fails as a vehicle ofcommunication if the editor places the elements

on any page by fitting them into a preconceiveddesign pattern.

It is neither creative nor responsive to the news

merely to design a page with all elements laidinto a rigid format, then place each day's or

week's pages of text and graphics in locations

where the measurements are exactly the same asthe day or week before.

DCJ , UoM


52


52/363

The news should be packaged with a

logical sense to the text and graphics

relationships, but the packagingshould be subtle.

DCJ , UoM


53


53/363

News does change from page to page

and section to section, and the designshould be altered accordingly.

But if the Total Page Concept is to be consistent,standards should be written to guide designersin their placement of heads, stories, photos and

illustrative material.

J


54


54/363

With one newspaper's editors/designers

numbering as many as 50, there are too manypeople working too many shifts to sit down anddebate how best to maintain consistent design.

Consistency through flexible standardsserves a twofold purpose: The staff is able

to make design decisions, and the readeris likely to see the newspaper as a

uniformly credible product.


55


55/363

To help the reader in a hurry, an efficient andimaginative newspaper package is vital.Elements must be placed on each page with a

conscious awareness that the newspaper ispublished to convey the news to the reader: localnews in the community weekly; and local,

national and international news in the daily. Theamount of space allotted for national andinternational news will vary for the dailynewspaper, depending quite simply on thenumber of pages available.


56


56/363

Readers look to their newspapers forinformation and education: to see how their taxdollars are being spent or what their city council

or school board is doing, to follow a sports team,or to read about an event or a celebrity inanother state or another country.


57


57/363

Designers/editors who comprehend the reasonsbehind a reader's need for putting time aside toread the newspaper and who implement the

Total Page Concept to serve that need are morelikely to encourage the reader to buy the productregularly, and its advertised goods and services

as well.


58/363


59/363


60


60/363

The characters of Harold Hill inThe Music Man and Willie

Loman in Death of a Salesman

demonstrated fully thecommandment that all in the

newspaper business mustcomprehend: Know your

territory.


61


61/363

The territory of each newspaper is

ascertained by looking to see preciselywho its readers are.

The effective application of

demographics and psychographics canassist editors in presenting news that

its readership wants and needs.


62/363


63


63/363

The source knows what is to be said, themeaning that is to be imparted, the ideas thereader is to acquire, has a verbal vocabulary and

a vocabulary composed of visual elements and averbal and a visual syntax.

Syntax means the ordering of the verbal and

visual elements to show their relationships sothat the intended meaning is correctlyinterpreted by the reader.


64


64/363

The reader must figure out the meaning forhimself, his responses are not passive orautomatic and the reader is engaged in a process

of decision-making deciding what meanings arebeing signalled.

If any of the elements, visual or verbal are

foreign to the readers experience, correctinterpretation will be difficult.

The effect of a properly written and8/10/2009Sanjay Ranade, HoD,

DCJ , UoM

65


65/363

The effect of a properly written and

properly designed printed message is

synergistic.

Unless you know the meaning of properly

written, properly designed and synergistic youwill not understand the meaning of thestatement although it is an accurate statement.


66


66/363

One of the major contributions towardunderstanding reading has come from studies ofcommunication systems in the form of a precise

definition of information. Information takes a number of different forms

as it moves through a channel between the

source and receiver.


67/363


68


68/363

The reader is engaged in decision making withrespect to communication.

He has to select from among alternatives.

The relationship between the amount ofinformation received and the number ofalternatives is not direct.


69


69/363

The relationship between information andalternatives can be expressed as a measurementof information called a bit.Abitis equal to one

half the alternatives at any time.


70


70/363

One bitresolves the uncertainty between twoalternatives.

Two bits resolve the uncertainty among four

alternatives. Three bits resolve the uncertainty among eight

alternatives.

Therefore, how many bits are needed to resolvethe uncertainty among 64 alternatives?


71


71/363

Information and Redundancy

Redundancy exists whenever information isavailable to the reader from two or more places.


72


72/363

A message is redundant if it contains

more information than it needs to.


73


73/363

In terms of information theory, uncertainty ornumber of alternatives can be reduced in two ormore ways.

This implies that a shorter message coulddeliver the same information.


74


74/363

The English language in print offers an excellentexample. Sequences of letters are redundant;

some letters show up more frequently thanothers.

The letters e, t, a, i, o and n are most frequentwhereaszand y seldom appear.

Does any letter other than u followq?

It has been estimated that English is more than50 per cent redundant.


75


75/363

What about redundancy in pictures?

Tests have characterised predictable shapes in thismanner:

They tend to be symmetrical

They involve straight lines or lines changing in aregular manner

They tend to involve few angles


76


76/363

A major purpose of redundancy is tosave readers time and difficulty in

understanding what they read by

increasing predictability.


77


77/363

Why do we read?

Because we must.

Humans and animals are programmed to a) seek

out information, b) select from the total and putinto proper form what is potentially useful tomake their way through life, c) organise the

information into a memory store and d) retrieveinformation from memory for use in decisionmaking.


78


78/363

The organisation of information and experiencein memory is called cognitive structure.

The building of cognitive structure begins with

perceptual learning which is the process bywhich we .


79


79/363

Determine what the things and events in theworld around us are and

Organise them into our understanding of the

world.

This process is lifelong. This is why our world viewis constantly being changed.


80


80/363

Therefore, in terms of information

theory, a perception is the reduction

of uncertainty about what things andevents that confront us are.


81


81/363

However, we cannot perceive the world as itreally is.

Our senses are grossly inadequate.

The world exists as a dynamic whirl of energy ina universe of energy; but the energy form we calllight waves that our eyes can detect gives but

little hint about what things really are.


82/363


83


83/363

To call something a chair is to note

its similarities to other chairs and

ignore any differences.

These similarities are called defining

features.


84


84/363

Defining features may be visiblefeatures such as size and shape or

they may be semantic.

One can distinguish between a knife and a forkvisually. When both these are categorised astableware we know something of their

interrelationship and we are at a higher level ofabstraction.


85


85/363

Defining figures serve as information

because they reduce uncertainty.


86


86/363

Word symbols lie along a continuumfrom the concrete to the highly

abstract. Nandini cow livestock farm assets assets

wealth.

We have moved from a name to a more concrete

cow and from there to an abstract idea ofwealth.

Pi li l i il


87


87/363

Pictures too lie along a similarcontinuum.

Photographs, especially in colour, would be themost direct refeence to the real world whereasillustrations, paintings, drawings generally tendto be less direct and are rendered in varying

degrees of abstraction.


88


88/363

By abstraction we mean first the

enhancement of those features of acategory that best identify it (make it

recognisable) and second, thesuppression of those features which

are not generic to that is, not basic

to comprehending it (perceiving its

relationships to other categories)

Th i t f d li t


89


89/363

The communicator faces delicatechoices in finding the proper level of

abstractedness Will a true-life photograph serve best?

Perhaps the subject can be highlighted and thebackground subdued or eliminated. Can circles or pointing devices be superimposed on

the reproduction of the photograph do drawattention to defining features?

Perhaps a diagram can more effectively deliver acomplicated message that could only be presented

verbally in a dull recitation of facts and figures.

Th H IPS


90


90/363

The Human IPS

Three basic sub systems characterise anyinformation-processing system (IPS)

Input

Information processing Output

Wh t i h i ?


91


91/363

What is comprehension?

Understanding the content or meaning of themessage.

But, what is meaning?

The chief ordered the police to stop allgambling. What is the meaning of this

statement? Is the meaning the same toeverybody?


92


92/363

Meaning in terms of information processing isthe reduction of uncertainty to the point that thereceiver feels satisfied that he or she

understands.

If the so rce did his or her job


93


93/363

If the source did his or her jobproperly and all uncertainty is reduced

at the receiver end, only onemeaning can result.

The source and the receiver will be ofone mind. This what is envisaged in

the Indian communication theory of

Sadharanikaran.

Information stored in memory


94


94/363

Information stored in memory

A hypothetical and partial memory network thatrelates the cow to other living organisms canhelp us process information better. For

instance, cow - four-legged - vertebrate -herbivore - mammal - living organism.Information arranged hierarchically in this

manner - from low level to high levelabstraction can be processed faster.


95/363


96


96/363

Are cows four-legged? The answer yes to thisquestion would be far more immediate than thesame answer to the question Are cows

mammals.


97


97/363

Categories, together with their attendantfeatures seem to be stored in memory. When theprinted images words or pictures are

perceived, there is a reaction within the totalnetwork of knowledge.

STM LTM


98


98/363

STM-LTM

Short term memory or STM and long termmemory or LTM are not locations or a place inthe brain. These are processes or subsystems of

the total IPS.As soon as information enters the human IPS an

abstraction process begins.

Information enters a subsystem of the STMcalled the Visual STM or Sensory Store where itpersists perhaps for a second or so.


99


99/363

From the Sensory Story abstracted informationmoves to STM.

Either at the time the information is sensed or

while it is still in sensory stage, visualinformation is transformed into neural codes.

Picture images, it is believed, are normally

transformed into iconic or visual codes. Wordimages are transformed either into auditory orsemantic code or visual or iconic code.

Some situations are easier to resolve if wordb l f d i i i d


100


100/363

Some situations are easier to resolve if wordsymbols are transformed into an iconic codeallowing the reader to image what is presented

verbally.

Watch the processes in your brain as you answer

this question How many stairs are therebetween the first and the second floor of your

building? Are you using STM or LTM to answerthe question?

Th d ti f i f ti i STM i l ti l


101


101/363

The duration of information in STM is relativelybrief and the capacity of STM is limited to five to

eight unrelated units such as random letters.When we read words, the eye takes in

information only at stops or fixations. Four or

five meaningfully related words (perhaps 25 to30 letters) can be seen, held in STM, andprocessed that is , be interpreted to be cues for

reducing uncertainty in one second by anefficient reader.

Then the eye jumps to another fixation.

It is during these jumps, called saccades, thatprocessing or match-up with LTM information


102


102/363

It is during these jumps, called saccades, thatprocessing or match-up with LTM informationoccurs.

Thus, processing of verbal information in auditorycodes proceeds serially.

It is theorised, on the other hand, that pictures,transformed into visual codes, can be handled by

parallel processing.

One has to move ones eyes along lines of type with

words falling within an area of narrow focus.Information from pictures is not limited to this

narrow area. Such visual images can be more

quickly recognised.

Each newspaper is different.


103


103/363

Each newspaper is different.The staffs for news editorial, advertising, clerical and

pressroom are unlike any other paper, regardless of

the size of the community.Even if the community has the same population asanother, it may have more or fewer newspapersubscribers.

Employment opportunities are different, as well as theages and education of the people, the weather andthe leisure activities available.

All that the newspaper facility has to offer inpersonnel and equipment and all that the circulationarea itself offers mix together as the newspaper aimsto serve its readership.

The balance of news content and

presentation must complement the


104


104/363

presentation must complement thereaders' needs.

Editors have realized through marketing studiesand the improvement of all media systems that

people are demanding better products for theirmoney. Newspapers are a consumer product. Looking at

newspapers as a product or package has openedmany editors' eyes to the fact that appearanceand content must go hand in hand to compete

for consumer attention and money.


105


105/363

Newspaper management's goal is to reach thelargest number of households; to effect this,management needs to meet the community's

expectations and to be consistent in a time oftight economy.

The successful newspaper uses the mostsophisticated market methods in

monitoring its readership.


106


106/363

A reader purchases a particularnewspaper for a variety of reasons,

mostly related to a sensedinformation need or a sense of

identity with the community that thepaper serves.


107


107/363

The purchase may be one of convenience--thetime of day that the paper is available--orperhaps this is the only newspaper that covers

community news in depth. In addition, thedelivery or newsstand price might be less thanthat of the competition, or the reader may like

the paper's use of color, the stories' lengths orthe amount or quality of photos.


108


108/363

A newspaper's survival is directly

related to its seeing the value of a

strong product and making a correctmeasurement of the product's

recipients.

If you're going to try to survive withundereducated riters and correspondents ith


109


109/363

y g g yundereducated writers and correspondents, withlow quality photos, with sloppy graphics, design

and poor press work, you're kidding yourself.You won't make it with ad people who are

merely pickup clerks rather than aggressive,innovative salesmen.

Survival will be difficult with editors and

reporters who aren't tuned in--tuned in not onlyto your community, but to your area, your state,country and the world.


110


110/363

Editors often make assumptions about readersthat have no basis in fact.

Therefore, research is necessary to establish

what readers want in a paper's particularmarket.

Research that is specially prepared, because

many surveys deal heavily with the paper'scontent rather than appearance.

Three important factors should beestablished from design research


111


111/363

pestablished from design research

the nature of the market and the lifestyles andattitudes of the people in it;

the nature of the newspaper; and the nature of the competition.

Readers' needs are found through

demographic and psychographic


112


112/363

g p p y g pcritiques.

Demographics are the statistics kept aboutpopulations related to records of births, deaths,

marriages and diseases. Psychographics are thequantitative data about the activities, interestsand opinions of a population that describe

segments by the individual and collectivelifestyles of their respective members. However,these critiques must be done carefully


113


113/363

The paper should reflect in content

what the readership wants to read,and in design whatever is appropriate

to the specific audience's interests.

Part of the enticement to read is


114


114/363

Part of the enticement to read isembodied in the content of the news:the subjects and stories that are

written about, and how well they are

written.

But the news department mustcontend with much more than that.


115


115/363

To keep the reader engaged, an attractive designutilizing the Total Page Concept must bepresented.

This is why it is crucial that editors know theiraudience, know how to make realistic decisionson what is run, and plan how stories and

graphics will be displayed in the precious spaceavailable.

UNDERSTANDING WHAT NEWS IS


116


116/363

If news is the paper's central purpose and thereason readers purchase the paper, the newsstaff should do its best to serve that purpose with

well-written and tightly edited stories and theuse of strong, purposeful graphics.

People who read the newspaper frequently take it astheir own personal possession, an extension of the


117


117/363

p p ,community's personality. Readers make jokes about

the paper--about its name, or the time some (localor outside) personality's name was misspelled or awrong photo identification was made.

However, the local paper is also the first place thatpeople take their wedding announcement, or look

for a "write up" about a family member elected tooffice in a community organization, or a story abouta high school or college team's outcome in a sports

event.

Here are some interesting insights intowhat news is:


118


118/363

what news is: Local news coverage, no matter how you define

it, must not be shortchanged. Local news needs strong writing and capable

people to report it. It can't be left to clerks and

stringers. Good reporters and good editors areessential.

Readers are becoming more sophisticated every

day. They know when a story is covered andwritten correctly or when it is just left to a non-professional.


119


119/363

It's more than running the photo of thehomecoming queen.

As the community market and the newspaper's

policy are simultaneously reviewed, muchconsideration must be given to why the publicpurchases the paper. Usually, the reason given

is: "I can't get along without knowing what isgoing on in the community."


120/363


121


121/363

In the 15-20 minutes the averagereader spends with the paper, only 10

percent to 12 percent of the news isread.

Research indicates that readersl if i f ti i th i t


122


122/363

classify information in the paper into

two areas:

information that is interesting and/or useful;and

information that is not interesting and/or useful.


123


123/363

Newspaper readers feel that their

purchase of the paper involves anunspoken contract: The newspaper is

the vehicle they have chosen fordiscovering news content, but finding

it should not be a matter of chance.

Interesting pertinent information


124


124/363

Interesting, pertinent information,

especially "hard news" stories--thestories that readers should know about

to be informed citizens--must becarefully written and creatively

displayed.


125


125/363

Design purpose must make sense to

the reader even if only subliminally.


126


126/363

Excellence in writing is no less crucial, but thistoo can be helped by design. If the story'simportant points are made in the lead paragraph

and several that follow, and if subheads areprinted boldly enough with sufficient whitespace around them to provide direction, then the

reader should correctly perceive the story'simportance, catch its main points and besatisfied.


127


127/363

Whether presenting "hard" or "soft" news, it is vital

that reporters, editors and graphic designers realizethe importance of telling the story completely.

This is because publication is a one-way medium.The reader who does not understand the story is notlikely to pick up a telephone and get into a two-way

conversation with the writer to have the storyclarified--but is likely to buy another newspaper, if it

happens too often.


128/363


129


129/363

Newspapers have tried many experiments ontheir inside pages, on section fronts and on theirsofter features; but, with few exceptions, radical

changes have not been tried on the news pagesthemselves.

This is because most news editors believe that

treating hard news lightly might take away fromthe paper's news integrity.


130


130/363

Nevertheless, the news pages set thetone for a TPC-designed newspaper.

Since news pages must clearly signalstory importance, they should haveno less vitality to them than the rest

of the paper.


131


131/363

On all of its pages the newspaper must be

recognized by editors and readers as a visualmedium.

The mosaic of shapes and sizes in a particularpaper will be chosen by the harried reader only if

there is an immediately understood organizationof graphics and words.


132


132/363

Organization makes the news

accessible, and it clarifies the paper's

sensitivity to readers' needs.


133


133/363

A newspaper's philosophy regardingits news sections can be determinedby examining how thoroughly itsstories are edited, how its photos andillustrative art are displayed, and the

role that the art department hasplayed in making decisions.


134


134/363

The important point is the beginning

Integration is achieved when the art and news

departments have both given careful thought tothe final product from its conception tocompletion.

If, from the inception of the story, the designer isinvolved in the process, he might say, "While you'reout getting the story on the water shortage and the


135


135/363

out getting the story on the water shortage and the

long queues before municipal taps perhaps you'dwant to get details of how water is consumed, howpeoples lives are planned according to when the

water will come and get a map of the city showingwhen there is a water cut and where.

We might decide not to do the traditional story, but

make a list of the suburbs with a map so the readerwould get the kind of information he needs in hisdaily life from the story--rather than writing a story

and simply showing a picture of people in queues.


136


136/363

This is a structural approach that helps

complement the narrative one.


137/363

Among the graphic design questions

that dynamic, growing newspaperstaffs must address, the most basic


138


138/363

staffs must address, the most basic

include: Does the newspaper's art department actually serve as

an advertising support department, or are some art

people being integrated into the news department? Is there a plan for training news editors in the use ofgraphics and in working with or as art departmentpeople?

Does the newspaper have a graphics editor or editorialdesigner; and, if so, is this individual part of the newsteam, or news trained enough to provide input when thepaper is on deadline?

For a publication to be successful in thecomputer age, its editorial staff members need to


139


139/363

p g ,

understand the function of art. Likewise, the art department that trulycomplements the news department has a

department head and staffers who participate innews meetings with the news editors andreporters; this kind of arrangement also serves

well the purpose of the newspaper: to providethe full story, in written and graphic terms.

NEWSPAPER DESIGN AND LAYOUT

Of ll h i d di f i i h


140


140/363

Of all the printed media of communication, the one

that has placed the least emphasis on formthroughout history has been the newspaper.

The result has been predictable: the development of

a medium whose appearance has paled incomparison with magazines, books and otherprinted literature.

Designers of printed media for years have pointed tonewspapers as the most awkward, least attractiveand least readable of these media!


141


141/363

Why newspapers have been made up

and not designed

Problems of format

B d h t b t i h id d


142


142/363

Broadsheets are about 15 inches wide and 23

inches deep. They are of considerable bulk with scores of

pages and several sections being common.

The large size is more an historical accident and theyare still with us because we have invested inequipment that can deal with just these sizes.


143


143/363

q p j

The British newspapers adopted the broadsheet sizeto circumvent a tax based on the number of pages. The Americans followed suit. The development of the Penny Press in the America

just before the Civil War resurrected a smaller pagesize to attract a new audience of factory labourers.

At about the same some business or politically

oriented newspapers went to extremely largeformats they had pages three feet wide and fivefeet deep and were called blanketpapers.

Heavy investment in steam powered presses and


144


144/363

Heavy investment in steam powered presses and

related machines such as folders that wereintroduced in those years made it impossible toexperiment with size and we were stuck with thenow standard broadsheet newspapers.

The tabloid, because it is half the size of thebroadsheet, fitted the standard equipment, with


145


145/363

q p

one additional fold being the only specialrequirement for production.

Unfortunately for newspaper readers, the use ofthe tabloid has been limited because it wastarred with a label of sensationalism when it first

came into use in the US.

Lets look at the reasons why newspapers are not


146


146/363

Let s look at the reasons why newspapers are not

only awkward but also least attractive or evenunattractive!


147/363

Narrow newspaper columns and the resultantverticalflow of design elements that have been acharacteristic of newspapers for years have also

t b th lt f hi


148


148/363

not been the result of mere whim. Primary newspaper financial support comes

from advertising and column inches and agatelines have been the basis for space rates toadvertisers.

Thus practical economics has favoured narrowcolumns: narrowing columns results in moreagate lines and column inches per page, and

widening produces fewer agate lines and columninches per page.


149/363

Why have newspapers gotten awaywith it? A simple rule in design is the importance of


150


150/363

A simple rule in design is the importance of

graphic design varies inversely with the interestof the reader greater the interest the lessimportant the graphics.

This situation is now changing because readers

media consumption is changing.


151


151/363

Times are Changing So are

Newspapers

Effects of Television A direct impact of television has been that


152


152/363

A direct impact of television has been that

newspapers have lost their advertising to television. Reader time has been lost too.

There has been an increasing passiveness toward

media the development of watchers rather thanreaders.

Television news is more real time.

Newspapers are forced to redesign, provide greaterdepth of treatment and additional analysis as wellas specialisation and departmentalisation.

Effect of Magazines A resurgence of magazines, including the revival of


153


153/363

g g , g

some general consumer greats of the past butespecially among the specialised and regional types,also is affecting newspaper design.

Magazines have been joining suburban newspapersand free circulation shoppers in competing withmetropolitan dailies for local, state, and regionaladvertising.

If newspapers are to meet such competitionsuccessfully their appearance must match the highquality of magazines.

Effects of New Production Technology Offset printing is the most commonly used reproduction


154


154/363

system for all media and has impacted design innewspapers overall. With offset printing, illustrations can be handled more

economically, more efficiently and with much better

results. Arrangement of elements on a page is no longer limitedto the unbending right angles of metal type engravings.

Cold type area composition and perhaps most

spectacularly, pagination by computer and cathode raytube typesetters have forced total rethinking ofnewspaper design and makeup to developing computerassisted page layout systems and templates.


155


155/363

Designing News Space

The public's appetite for news and information is never

fulfilled. The public wants all the news, the bad and the sad along

with the good and the glad.


156


156/363

It wants to enjoy the best of the news and learn how tocope with the rest of it.

It wants to look beyond the color to the content, beyondthe cosmetics to the consistency, beyond the promotionto the product, beyond the immediate emotions to thelogical conclusions.

It wants its media to keep up with its needs and adapt to

its lifestyle and it does not buy the old way-we've-always-done-it views of editors and publishers who do not thinkanything should be tried for the first time

Pages are not just brought together by magic--


157


157/363

g j g g y g

even by a design editor. Sequence, or the placingof elements on the page in a prescribed order, isessential to designing news space.

When advertisements are included on a page,they are placed first, by the advertising

department. Then the news department takesover, placing photos and illustrated art next, andheadline and text type last.

This placement order is the rule

because: advertising sizes must be exactly as they have


158


158/363

g y y

been sold to clients; photos and headlines can be sized somewhat

smaller or larger, but they cannot be cut orenlarged drastically to fit a space; and

text type can be set to fit a space, or the story can

be tightened or continued on another page.


159


159/363

NEWS PAGE DESIGN STRATEGIES

News pages particularly need a specialdesign strategy to convey each story


160


160/363

effectively, which will necessarily berelated to news judgment.

The best story of the day may not have or

need art to accompany it; the best art maynot have sufficient importance to be on

page one or anywhere else among thestraight news pages.

An insignificant news item or photo


161


161/363

should never receive undue play or beslanted or edited without

consideration for the integrity of thenews.

One of the main difficulties with elevating theimportance of design has been the ever-presentpressure of the deadline. There may be a story


162


162/363

partially written with its art yet to come, and thepage is on deadline. A beautiful page that impelspeople to read it because of its content and

design is one thing, but every news editor--evendespite the pleas of the strongest graphicseditor--has to go with the graphics that are

present at deadline.


163


163/363

A reader's response to stories isencouraged or impaired by their "play"

or placement on the page.

Page one is the page by which the remainder of


164


164/363

the newspaper is measured in terms of storiesand design. It is where the reader initially

becomes acquainted with the paper, and--while

it changes with every edition and every day--itslook is the product's instant identity, positive ornegative.

The close proximity of front-page text and artcan cause them to compete with one another.


165


165/363

If the design fails to direct the readerthrough the page, his or her interest

will be redirected to other options--including not reading the newspaperat all.


166/363

While having fewer stories sometimes gives us a


167


167/363

harder decision on which stories we should runon the front, it also gives us a cleaner lookingpage and the opportunity to more visually play

up some of the other potential front page storieson other news pages.

Segmenting a story--breaking it into smaller


168


168/363

units--makes it less forbidding to the readerthan the same story run as an ashen-gray massof type, and appearing long.

This is especially true for news stories and news

sections.

Segmenting can be accomplished in

any one of several ways

It may be a photo that catches your eye or the


169


169/363

caption that tells a little bit about it. It may be the quote or splitting the story as three

different phases with a 14-point intro explainingwhat you are doing.

Segmenting gives you more chances tocatch the eye of the reader and get himinterested.

The design editor is given more choices to work


170


170/363

with when segmenting within a modular makeupis the paper's style.

The more parts you have, the more ways toarrange them, group them. With one long story,

the only option might be to do an L-shape wraparound a picture.

A h l f i i h i


171


171/363

Another value of segmenting is that itcan save space.

Though the newspaper is a messengerof both good and bad tidings, the

i f i d i ill i


172


172/363

consistency of its design will improveits chances of being received

favorably, especially if its contents arewell organized and therefore easily

read, right from the start on page one.


173/363

Page one is the entryway through which the

d h th ti


174


174/363

The front page, in effect, is the

corporate identity, it is the prime

real estate in journalism

reader approaches the entire newspaper.

I d t b th hil t th


175


175/363

In order to be worthwhile to thereader, page one must provide direct

access to its own content as well as to

the remainder of the newspaper.

Prime content and attractive graphics are a good

b i i b t i b d th t th i t


176


176/363

beginning; but, going beyond that, the existenceor lack of an easy-to-read index and relatedtypographical elements will either guide the

reader into or steer the reader away from theinside pages.

A quick index should be provided on page oneeven if a more complete index-call it newssummary, briefs, capsules or "What's Inside"--

appears on page t o or three


177


177/363

appears on page two or three.

Readers will often first take notice of a summary

referring to more details on an inside page; thenthey read through the whole newspaper, andcheck back with the summary to make certainthat nothing of interest has been missed.

Editors who choose to use news summarycolumns and boxes may have the best of both

worlds," Schweitzer reported.

They may increase the reader appeal of the front


178


178/363

They may increase the reader appeal of the frontpage and keep the story count high at the sametime.

A corollary fact would be that summaries increase

story count and enhance a modern tabloidformat--which is not to be confused with the

sensational tabloid newspapers.

News summary items may be published

on page two or three or on page one

as a two column "chimney "


179


179/363

as a two-column chimney.

Some items refer readers to fullstories on other pages, and others can

be complete in themselves.

On the day of an important breaking story, it

may be worthwhile to scrap the traditional page


180


180/363

may be worthwhile to scrap the traditional page-one summaries, and to use the entire page forfull story and art coverage of the big event.

Photographs of individual faces--thumbnail size--are commonly used on the front page and

throughout the paper


181


181/363

throughout the paper.

An action photo taken during a news event--even

when it shows facial expression alone--willalways have more impact than a photo made ofthe same person at a professional portrait

studio. In every case, the person should still beidentifiable despite the photo reduction.

Clear or open pages are relatively easy to design

if there are enough stories and art to use


182


182/363

if there are enough stories and art to use.However, whether clear or includingadvertisements, the page design should have one

dominant element--a piece of art or, if this is notpossible, a well-displayed story--to provide aplace for the eye to begin reading.

Elements that anchor the page corners where

there is no advertising are also important for


183


183/363

there is no advertising are also important forinside pages, especially clear pages, and may bedone by a variety of methods: screening a story,

running a short informational box, or printing astanding feature or column.

While the rest of the newspaper changes its contentdisplay with each issue, the opinions/editorial pageshould provide from day to day (or week to week) asimilar design format including editorials, columns,letters and other features so that the reader can


184


184/363

letters and other features, so that the reader cancount on at least this one page to look reassuringlypredictable.

The op/ed page might also contain the names of thekey editors and the newspaper's mailing address,phone number and letters policy placed where they

can be easily found by readers wanting to write aletter to the editor or otherwise contact someone atthe newspaper office.

DESIGNING NEWS/ADVERTISING

COMPLEMENTS


Inside pages are seldom open display pages.

Story lengths and graphic elements must

185


185/363

Story lengths and graphic elements mustcompete for the balance of space available; thedesigner receives pages after the advertising has

been placed on them. Pages with advertising especially with many ads

or a few very large ones--need to be designed sothe reader will miss neither the stories nor theadvertising.

It follows then that a basic


186


186/363

It follows, then, that a basicunderstanding of advertising is needed

in order to design news space.

Facing the formidable competitionf t l i i ' l d


187


187/363

Facing the formidable competitionof television's color and

movement, newspaper advertisingdepartments have had to change

their old ways to attract readers.

Advertisers who once exclusively used

newspapers to sell their products no longer do


188


188/363

newspapers to sell their products no longer doso.

Today, newspaper advertisements must lure thereader immediately to the ad through design.The reader must notice something in the ad

worth purchasing.

While some pages--such as the frontpage, the opinion/editorial page, a

photo section or a special sectionb d f ill


189


189/363

photo section or a special sectionpage--may be ad free, most pages will

have one or more advertisements.Size and design are the keys toadvertising readership, not positionon the page.

Ads should always be designed

with the idea that advertising is

news, too.


190


190/363

A poorly designed ad will not only

have poor readership, but will also

detract the reader from the entire

page.

Based on the ad sizes that have been sold,

advertisements may be placed horizontallyth b tt f th ti ll t k d


191


191/363

y p yacross the bottom of the page, vertically stackedas a chimney of same-size ads on the left- or

right-hand side, in a vertical pyramid or stair-step manner (also on either the left or right side)or some combination of these.

It is up to the Ad Department to determine if awell or pyramid right layout should be used.

But a News Department layout policy which for


192


192/363

But a News Department layout policy which, forinstance, has a briefs column down the left side

of each page must be considered.

Horizontal advertising provides the best page-

design possibilities because jagged edges aroundth d id d H h i t l d


193


193/363

g p j gg gthe ads are avoided. However, horizontal adpages require the most cooperation from the

advertising department since all ads orcombinations of ads do not necessarily fit into aperfectly level horizontal line.

On the other hand, what brings people to an ad

is not its placement on the page, but the contentof the ad itself


194


194/363

p p gof the ad itself.

Creating horizontal ad lines may result in"burying" an ad--placing it in such a way that nopart of any news story touches it--which isgenerally considered undesirable.

This would happen if you had three two-by-fourads [two columns wide by four inches deep] andtwo two-by-two ads across the bottom of a page.

The two-by-two at the bottom would be"b i d "


195


195/363

"buried."

This is somewhat of an old fashioned idea, and

no longer seems to be the sign it once was.

After all, the idea assumed that readers only

read ads accidentally as they finished newsstories.

Today, news and advertisements

are treated in terms of design insuch a manner that visually they

appear in synergy.


196


196/363

appear in synergy.

News and ads are not separate butpart of a composite whole idea

called the newspaper.

Advertisements must not onlyconform to space limitations; they

must be written accurately and clearlyif their message is to reach the reader


197


197/363

y yif their message is to reach the readerand sell the product or idea. Poorlydesigned ads or those with languageerrors in them or illustrations of poor

quality, take away from news editorialpresentation.

Advertisements are built on the

message that the typography sends


198


198/363

g yp g p yto readers. As a complement to

the type, illustrations, logos,drawings and photos of the

product may be used in ads.

A newspaper with one or more staff artists whospecialize in advertising art is likely to havesome latitude when it comes to how an

advertisement will be created.The artist works directly with the advertising


199


199/363

The artist works directly with the advertisingsales department, receives information from the

salespeople, goes to the location of the productto make sketches, or combines advertiser-supplied and original art with type available atthe newspaper.

However, a newspaper with a very small

advertising staff and a part-time or only one full-time artist must work to use effectively the


200


200/363

time artist must work to use effectively theresources of the artist along with clipbooks and

the materials supplied by the advertiser.

Purists might say that editorialk d 't d t b f


201


201/363

g yworkers don't need to be aware of

what ads are on a page.


202/363

The news and advertising department

staffs should see themselves as


203


203/363

working toward a single common

goal: providing the best possiblesource of information for the

readership.


204/363

Designing Tabloid News Space


205


205/363

It's a mistake to treat a tabloidpage simply as a miniature

broadsheet page. While you can'tfit as much material on it you


206


206/363

fit as much material on it, you

should create the impression thatjust as much is happening as on a

full-sized page.

Some newspapers have gone to a tabloid orpullout magazine for their entertainment stories,the television listings or special community day

celebrations. Therefore, in discussing tabloidnewspaper design, it is primary to have a clear


207


207/363

p p g , p yunderstanding that a tabloid is not simply a

miniature or half-size standard broadsheetnewspaper turned sideways.


208/363

Many things that have been said about standardbroadsheet-size papers--for instance, in terms ofthe size of art and headlines, and story count--are not true of the tabloid. The small page sized d thi ki f d i I f t


209


209/363

demands a rethinking of design. In fact,

regarding design, it can sometimes be easier todevote a full tabloid page to each department--such as business--rather than work the same

material onto half a broadsheet page.

There is a confusion surrounding newspapers

that publish in the tabloid format; many peoplemistakenly classify all tabloids as being like the


210


210/363

sensational papers available at the supermarket

checkout stands.

It has something of the feel of a

magazine, which is why manybroadsheet papers publish some of


211


211/363

broadsheet papers publish some of

their feature sections in tabloidformat.

A tabloid is smaller and easier to handle than the

larger format; whether on a subway or at thebreakfast table, it simply consumes less spacewithout having to be folded in halves or quartersto be read.


212


212/363

The small feel of the tabloid format creates

another design possibility, a feature not seen inthe broadsheet: A story or a section such asb d h b k d


213


213/363

sports may be started on the back page and

jumped inside. The back page then becomes thebeginning page for a story, or a second coverpage with its own teasers to attract the reader's

attention to the inside.

Tabloids have their antecedents in the large

urban dailies created early in this century, withtheir eye-catching big photos and their emphasisi l ll h di i f


214


214/363

on a single story to sell the edition--a form

perhaps ideally suited to present the morethoughtful, magazine-style stories today's

weeklies often publish.

DISADVANTAGES/ADVANTAGES


215


215/363

S V N G S V N G S


216/363

The way around tabloid design problems is

simply to "write tight."

The purpose of writing tight is to keep the reader

with the story. To avoid a drab look, one has gotto run more than one story per tabloid page,unless there is a lot of terrific art to go with that


217


217/363

unless there is a lot of terrific art to go with that

single story. Go for two or, better, three stories per page-plus

art, of course.

This means editors must restrainreporters' natural tendency to write too

much.

Editors must realize that a 20-inch story may be

routine in a broadsheet, but it's long in a tabloid. Furthermore, jumping stories isn't the answer,

ith th it t


218


218/363

either; the grayness it prevents on one page

simply gets shoved onto another.

The whole story should be on one pagebecause "readers hate jumps."

The fact that readers hate jumps has now been

accepted by a majority of broadsheetnewspapers too.

N i t d f t j th t i b k


219


219/363

Now, instead of a story jump, the story is broken

down into smaller stories and placed on theinside pages with pointers on the front page.

While there are distinct

advantages to using a tabloid

format--such as the single-page

f d h


220


220/363

containment of stories and the

availability of full pages for

advertisers--some headline sizerestrictions are inevitable.

Sizes as large as 72-and 60-point (where 72

points equal one inch) type should be usedsparingly.

The headline should serve as a complement to


221


221/363

The headline should serve as a complement to

the text. It must be large enough to carry or support the

story's length, but not so large that it is bigger

than the story it heads.

On the other hand, a tabloid newspaper will

often print its largest headline at 30-or 24-point.When the point sizes begin this small, there is

not much farther to go down


222


222/363

not much farther to go down.

This does not provide much page design varietyand does little to focus readers' interest on therelative importance of the news stories.

Tabloid stories can be packaged differently than

on a broadsheet because the smaller paper canbe held open in both hands, and the two pagesthen viewed almost as one


223


223/363

then viewed almost as one.

The story flow from page to page makes readingthe tabloid an easy experience.

For publications with fewer pages than a major

metropolitan daily-college newspapers, forexample--a tabloid has the additional subliminaladvantage of giving an impression of more bulk


224


224/363

advantage of giving an impression of more bulk.

It's twice as thick and has twice as many pages asa broadsheet section containing the sameamount of space.

DESIGNING THE TABLOID


225


225/363

A poster-cover front page or this, in combination

with the beginning of a single cover story, areeffective design options for the tabloid page one.


226


226/363

The page might also have "boxcars," or reference

notes keyed to the cover story and other storiesinside.

A front page like this--with large headlines


227


227/363

A front page like this with large headlines,

inside references and large photos--is seen inseveral newspapers, although competition forthe reader's attention can sometimes be

distracting.

In every case, the designer should "think aboutthe opposite page" when planning out a tabloidsection.

Because tabloid pages are smaller each two-pagespread forms a tighter unit than in a broadsheet.


228


228/3

elements of newspaper design

Documents