NEWSPAPER DESIGN
Newspaper Design: an update
The state of newspaper design at the end of this century
reveals that not all things remain static, especially newspapers, and that after decades of “designing” by imitation,
daily newspapers from around the world are beginning to
implement what could be referred to as grassroots design, a
return to those characteristics that separate one newspaper
from another visually.
I believe we have arrived at a sort of intersection
between the long road that took newspapers from printed
forms that were merely “laid out” to the grander exercise
which is “design.”
Along the way, trendy visual elements, specifically
many emanating from the United States, gave way to
When USA Today kicked off in 1982, it brought with it splashes
of colour, graphics and briefs. Today, its design seems sort of
old fashioned. Perhaps it, too, will undergo a change.
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Mario R. Garcia
Mario Garcia New Media Design International
Tampa, Fla., USA
imitations worldwide, and, in many instances, in places
where they obviously did not belong.
Take a look back . . .
To be able to assess where we are, we must first take a
quick look at where we have been. It is hardly a secret that
newspapers, with few exceptions, were no models of visual
aesthetics for many years. In most cases, text dominated
(some of it set in typefaces that were not attractive, nor
legible) the look of newspapers.
With the advent of photography, visual elements took a
greater sense of importance, but without the involvement
of good photo editors and designers, even excellent
photography many times ended up as “filler” material on
the page.
Great photos ended up too small on the page, while
mediocre ones (such as head shots) ended up as dominant
elements. Illustrations and cartoons have always been a
mainstay of newspapers, but relegated to the opinion pages,
and, with some exceptions, and rarely at that, on the front
page.
The 1970s brought the first of the major changes:
newspapers were doing great, higher circulations, more
advertisers and a sort of recovery from the “fear of
television” led many newspaper publishers and editors to
invest in their products. In came brand new offset presses,
which were able to print colour, and the front page of the
newspaper would never be the same again. It took the
venerable and highly respected The New York Times
almost 30 years to put a colour photo on its front page, but
it happened in 1997.
Yes, the newspaper landscape, circa 2000, is a garden of
colour, and getting more colourful all the time.
Along with the new rotary presses, the glamour of
colour photos of balloons, ducks and beach scenes came
other enhancements. Some newspapers trimmed the physical size of their papers, while increasing the number of
pages.
Soon, it was necessary to have art directors, or graphics
editors (the term depended and usually revealed how a
publisher or editor felt about the whole idea of DESIGN
inside his newspaper). By the end of the 1970s, it was
almost a common site in a U.S. newsroom to see an art
department, with a visual staff that participated fully in the
daily production of the newspaper.
With the arrival of USA Today in September 1982,
design and colour, the “intrusion” of visual elements into
the pages of newspapers, had reached a culminating point.
What newspaper did not rush to produce a colour weather
map? What newspaper editor did not criticise the style of
USA Today vehemently, only to adopt columns of briefs,
hire two informational graphics specialists and declare the
colour salmon the official page one colour branding?
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January 1998
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NEWSPAPER DESIGN
As we approach the end of the millennium, even this
remarkable journalistic event seems so remote. In fact,
USA Today now looks sort of old fashioned – too much
colour, too much congestion, too much of everything. And,
who knows, maybe it, too, will undergo a change soon.
(Although as a frequent traveler, I read it all the time and
find it useful, easy to follow and probably would resent too
much tinkering with the tried and true product!)
. . . and that brings us to now
I call this era “Stepping into Period Design” because
that is exactly what seems to be happening. Two interesting
trends are noteworthy for students and observers of newspaper design:
1) Retro is in. Designers and editors are probably
visiting their dusty morgues and archives, digging out type
fonts of the 1930s and before, introducing heads and
subheads before readers get to any text, relying more on
black and white (although not abandoning colour), and
reviving that most wonderful of all design techniques:
white space.
At the same time, we are not debating for hours the
length of stories. There are short, short stories and long,
long stories, co-existing happily on the page. Content
controls the length of a story, as it should, instead of some
prescribed design rule that is not based on the realities of
daily journalism.
2) Newspapers are looking like newspapers again. In
the process, they are looking at their surroundings, their
communities, and trying to create visual characteristics that
can be part of their local charm: from the selection of type,
to the creation of colour palettes, newspapers are now more
aware of the uniqueness that their geographical location,
status within the community, and marketing goals can
provide.
Then they are introducing these in their designs. These
are not necessarily customised newspapers. It is not as
complicated as that. But they are, indeed, more rooted in
their own traditions. Some are reviving visual elements
such as emblems or code of arms from the past.
In a sense, the new look is lean and airy, but with
touches that make it original and distinct.
A look at some redesigns
Recent examples of redesign all indicate that this trend
is very much present. When The Independent of London
redesigned itself in the last quarter of 1997, it surprised
many observers with its extremely streamlined design,
complete with a 60 percent black and white canvas, ample
white space under page folios, striking black and white
photography (and large photos on most pages, too).
Modern, definitely, but with some touches of the past. As if
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January 1998
The Independent of London underwent a redesign late last year,
opting for a streamlined design, keeping a bit of the past while
embracing the future.
the editors decided to hold on to the past with one hand, and
embrace the future with the other.
The redesign abandoned a page one that incorporated
various promotional boxes in bright colours, as well as the
original nameplate, which was traded for a simplistic and
elegant one.
Le Monde (in Paris), which never abandoned the past
too much, took a couple of steps into the future with its
redesign, loosening up a bit on their fast hold to the past.
The front page is still devoid of photos, but the typography
used, the approach to white space, and the use of graphics
and photography throughout the newspaper – plus the
supplements – let us know that someone has looked at the
future and brought it into this most traditional of newspapers. Le Monde is still Le Monde, no doubt. But it has
more light shed on every page. And those who delight in
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NEWSPAPER DESIGN
The weekly newspaper, the Die Woche, stands out as one of
Germany’s flashiest designed newspapers.
good typographic interplay are in for a treat with this
newspaper.
In Germany, in one of its most bustling cities, Berlin,
soon to become the capital, the Berliner Zeitung appears
with a redesign reminiscent of the Wall Street Journal, but
with greater finesse.
Some wonder if perhaps this is not too much finesse for
a city that also accommodates a melting pot of immigrants,
and where attracting the readers from the east is a top
priority. Nonetheless, the new BZ is attractive, full of good
elements, and a typographical masterpiece from beginning
to end.
The look is more 1948 than circa 2000.
In the U.S. scene, it is disappointing to say that,
although some of the best newspaper design is still found
there, there are fewer distinctions among newspapers.
Perhaps some of the most trendy of designs are found on
the west coast, with interesting and appealing styles
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displayed by The Seattle Times, The Oregonian and The
San Francisco Examiner, among others. One glance at all
three of these newspapers placed side by side determines
that there is a sort of similarity here – lots of salmon-tinted
boxes, big display of promo boxes and remarkable use of
photographs.
Perhaps some of the most innovative newspaper design
can be found throughout Spain, where the wave of visual
journalism that swept newspapers there in the 1980s has
not only stayed with full power, but enhanced itself to
embrace even provincial newspapers.
Among the best: Diario de Noticias (Pamplona), La
Vanguardia (Barcelona), El País (Madrid), Diario de
Navarra (Pamplona). And soon to undergo changes, the old
standby and most traditional of the Spanish press, the
Madrid daily ABC.
The Scandinavians, next to the Spanish, must get the
credit for producing some of the most outstanding
examples.
Here, by the way, one has always been able to detect
differences among the newspapers. All print on excellent
quality paper. All use photographs well (perhaps among the
best in all of Europe), and white space (the open environments so much a part of the Scandinavian countries) is also
very obvious on the pages of their newspapers. Good
examples abound: Berlingske Tidende, Politiken (Copenhagen), Jyllands-Posten (excellent for its informational
graphics, Arhus), Arhus Stiftstidende (good display of
colour), Göteborg-Posten (great feature pages, Gothenburg, Sweden), Svenska Dagbladet (good typographic
composition, Stockholm) and Aftenbladett (great feature
pages and good photos, Oslo).
In Germany, a country with highly traditional newspapers and readers, the weekly Die Woche is a standout
with its panels in a variety of colours (sometimes clashing
ones, but nonetheless interesting). Die Woche’s pages are
never boring. In early 1997, the most intellectual newspaper, the also weekly Die Zeit, emerges with a new look
that emphasises more white space, a more open look, but
preserves the rich history and classic elegance of that
newspaper.
Latin America newspapers answered the call of newspaper design almost as early as the U.S. dailies. By the
1970s, the revolution of change, colour and more pages and
supplements already started.
Today, Latin American newspaper design is among the
best in the world. Artists and designers from South
America always display a special flair, great instinct for
colour and for expressing themselves through illustration.
Their inclusion in newspaper staffs place the area of
illustration per se in Latin America among the best in the
world. Standout newspapers to look at are:
Brazil – O Globo (Rio) Folha de Sao Paulo, O Estado de
Sao Paulo (Sao Paulo), Zero Hora (Porto Alegre), Estado
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NEWSPAPER DESIGN
de Minas (Belo Horizonte); in Argentina – Clarin (Buenos
Aires), La Gaceta (Tucuman), La Voz del Interior (Cordoba); Colombia – El Tiempo; Ecuador – El Comercio
(Quito), Mexico – Reforma and Novedades (Mexico City),
El Norte (Monterrey), and, in Chile – the new afternoon
tabloid, La Hora (Santiago de Chile).
In discussing excellent examples of newspaper design
one must highlight two outstanding products from Canada:
Montreal’s Le Devoir as well as Toronto’s Globe and Mail.
In both cases, black and white dominate, while typography
is, indeed, the leading visual element of the design.
Internet influences design
Now, we are beginning to see other influences which
have more to do with the future – such as the Internet.
Already it is obvious that many of the designers who do
print design, but also do web sites, are beginning to apply
web thinking to print. For example, the idea of navigation
(indexing) is assuming new importance, as it should, in
newspapers.
Times are good
So, these are happy times for newspaper design and
designers. We have the technology that allows us to do it
almost all.
We as designers enjoy a greater acceptance among
editors. Cooperation between those who deal with words
and those who work with visuals is at its best.
That is what newspaper design is about. Communication
is a must when it comes to good design.
It has been a difficult road, no question about that. But
as we enter a new century it is delightful to see that
newspapers across the globe show a greater sense of pride
in how they look.
The Berliner Zeitung’s redesign resembles the Wall Street
Journal, but with greater finesse. It is definitely a typographical
masterpiece, from beginning to end.
E&P yearbook reveals increased circulation for U.S. community newspapers
As the daily U.S. newspaper industry continues to report
circulation declines, the country’s weekly newspapers and
shoppers guides experienced circulation increases during
the last year, according to the latest Editor & Publisher free
paper publisher yearbook.
That annual survey and directory, which brings together
data gathered from more than 10,000 of the country’s
weeklies and shoppers guides, is published as the Editor &
Publisher / Free Paper Publisher Community, Specialty &
Free Publications Year Book. The second annual edition of
the 500-page reference book has just been released.
It documents that the total circulation of paid community newspapers increased to more than 20.4 million
while total free circulation throughout the U.S. increased to
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January 1998
26.8 million, or a combined national weeklies’ circulation
of 47.3 million as of September 1 of 1997.
Meanwhile, shoppers guide publications had a total
national circulation of more than 58.2 million as of
September 1.
E&P’s research department also found that the most
popular day to publish community weekly newspapers in
the United States is Thursday – 2954 editions are published
on that day. But Thursday is the least popular day in
Canada where only 39 editions are published. Canada’s
most popular day is Wednesday with 344 editions published.
The E&P/FPP Year Book profiles 10,160 publications
located throughout the United States and Canada.
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