ElementsofNewspaperDesignSanjayRanade,HoDDCJ,UOM

20092010

S.K.SOMAIYACOLLEGEOFARTS,SCIENCEANDCOMMERCETYBMM(JOURNALISM)

ElementsofNewspaperDesign

PuttingNewspaperDesignintoPerspective

Contentisstillthecarryingpoint.Readerswanttobeabletolookatthepaperveryquicklyandknowwhatthenewsofthedayisandtheydon'twanttobescaredaway.s

RandyStanodirector,editorialartanddesignMiamiHerald

Nomatterhoworwhennewsbreaks,orhowbigastoryis,theweeklyordailypaperservesasamajorsourceofnewsinacommunityandthenation.

Howthedesigneditorplaceselementsonthepagesguidesthereaderastowhatisthemostimportantnews,andwhatisnot.

Editorsofthe1980shadbecomemoreawareofgraphics,thatmanynewspapershadhiredgraphicsspecialistsandthattheirsurveysofreadersnowfrequentlyincludedquestionsonappearanceaswellasoncontent.

Itwasfoundthatasresultsdictatedchanges,publishersbecameincreasinglywillingtoaccepttheimportanceofappearanceandallocateresourcestoimproveit.

Mosteditorswillnotputgraphicsonapageespeciallyanewspagerandomlyorforthe

sakeofdecoration.

Graphicsmustbepurposeful.

Formfollowsfunction.

Haveareasonforeverydesignelementyouuse.

Becausenewspaperstylebooksestablishguidelinesnotrulesgraphicjournalistsarequicktorecognizethatthestandardsofoneeditorordesignerdonotnecessarilyagreewiththoseofanother.

Thereforeformfollowsfunctionmaynotbealwayspopularinnewspapersasinthecaseofautomobileswheresomeofthebestdesignshavenotbeenfunctional.

FunctiondoesnotalwayshavetoinformwhenyoutakethesebigreverselettersthatfeaturepagesusetokickoffchapterheadingsasitwerethebigTdoesn'tinformanything.Butitdoesprovidecontrastorpointsofinterestoralittlesalesmanship.

Withreferencetofashionsections,whereanattemptissometimesmadeforabreakthroughindesign,thepagessometimeshaveweirdlittleborders,orangledbars.

Thesedon'tcontributetotheinformationorunderstandingbuttheydoservethepurposeof"salesmanship.

Thedesigneditorisfaceddailywiththeparadoxofpackagingcontentsimplybutalsothoroughlyandevenelegantly.

Everydaythedesigneditorisfacedwiththesecircumstances:

Reportershavewrittentheirstoriesphotographershavecompletedtheirassignments,andthebestpictures,mapsandchartshavebeenselectedforprintingbythepageandsectioneditors.Afterreporters,photographersandartistshavecreatedcontent,thendesignersarefreetowork.Thequestionthenarises:Howisthenewstobepresentedbest?

Nomatterwhatthenewsofthedayhasbeen,thereaderanticipatesanappropriatemixoflocal,nationalandinternationalnewsplusnewsfeatureseachpresentedaccurately,clearlyandfairly.Thisexpectationshouldbecomplementedbydesignthateffectivelyorganizesthedisplayofnewssothereaderwillbeeasilyguidedthroughthepaper.

Whetherdesignisachievedextraordinarilybyaneditormakingdecisionsaboutmomentousnewsorordinarilybytheoperationofroutinedesigndecisionsnewspapersachieveconsistencyandflexibilitythroughacomplexnetworkofdesignprinciples.

WHATTHETOTALPAGECONCEPTISANDHOWITWORKS

ThroughtheTotalPageConcept(TPC),editorsorganizeapagesothatthereadercaneasilyidentifytheimportanceofthenews.TheTotalPageConceptencompassestherelationshipofallthepartsorelementsneededtocreateapageinapublication,suchascaptionsforphotos,headlinesfornewsstories,thetypeandeventhethinbordersusedtooutlinepicturesorplaceaboxaroundstoriesandadvertising.

TheTotalPageConceptarticulatesthefullestconceptofdesign,ontheassumptionthat

designsupportsverbalcontent.

ToimplementtheTotalPageConceptistodesigneachpageasanintegralunit,butwithasimilardesignstylefrompagetopageandissuetoissue.

TheTotalPageConceptbeginswithpageonethepublication's"picturewindow"andcontinuesthroughoutallthepages,exceptthosedevotedtoclassifiedadvertisements.

Thefrontpageprovidesadisplayofwhat'simportantoftheday'sorweek'sevents,withlargerheadlinesrelatingtothenewsthataffectsormaybeofinteresttothegreatestnumberofpeople.Newspaperreadersareinitiallyattractedtotheproductwhosetypeandwordsareeasiesttoreadandwhosepicturesandothergraphicsmosteffectivelyportraythenews.

Fromthefrontpage,theaudienceisthenluredtoastoryonaninsidepagebyashortheadlinereferrala"referencenote."

Elementsinthereferralincludeastatementaboutastoryandsometimesasmallphotoorotherillustrativegraphicenclosedinabox.

Ineffect,thereferralsellsthenewsitmakestheinsidepagesappearusefulenoughforthereadertomakeatimecommitmenttothem.

Theneedforthis"selling"functionisclear:Iftheconsumerstaysonlymomentarilywiththefrontorinsidepagesofanewspaper,thenitislesslikelythattheadvertisingwhichpaysthesalariesofallwhoareemployedatthenewspaperplantwillberead.

TPCdesignmusthelpthereadernotonlythroughdisplay,butalsothroughtheuseofgraphicelements.

Theseelementsbecomeapartofdesigninthewaytheyaretreated.

Graphiccommunicationisaprocessofconveyingmessagesbymeansofvisualimages,whichareusuallyonaflatsurfacelikeanewspaperormagazine.

Twokindsofimagesareusedpicturesincludephotographs,paintingsanddrawings.Wordsarerepresentedgraphicallybyvariouslyshapedpatternscalledthelettersofthealphabet.

Lettersandthewordsthattheyformarecalledsymbolsbecausenothingaboutthemcanberelatedtocertainobjectsorideasthattheysignify.

Symbolsrepresentsomethingelsebyreasonofconventionthatis:agreementamongitsusers.

Picture,ontheotherhand,usuallyshowobjectsorthingsasmuchastheyare.

However,onoccasion,picturesmayalsobeusedassymbolsasinthecaseofspecificdays.

Bothpicturesymbolsandwordsymbolsareasarbitraryintermsofrelatingdirectlytotheirreferentsandmustbelearnedinthesamewaythatlanguageislearned.

Picturesandwrittenlanguagesharearemarkablesimilarityalthoughtheyperformdifferentfunctionsingraphiccommunication

Oursenses,includingourvision,controlourbehaviourdirectly.

Forinstance,wewouldstepasideifsomethingblockedourvision.

Visualimagesmakeitpossibleforustoconsiderthings,beinplaceswherewearenot.

Wecandealwiththeimaginary,thingsthataredivorcedfromreality.

Thereceiverofavisualmessagewhoseekstounderstandthemessagemustreadit.

Readingmaybedefinedasextractinginformationfromvisualimages. Thismeansthatbothpicturesandthewordsareread.

Thisreading,however,isdifferent.

Theeyescansalongawrittenline,makingfrequentstopstotakeinafewwords. Onlyfourorfivewordscanbehandledateachstop. Inorderforareadertoextractinformationfromapicture,whichisalargerarea

comparedtothefourorfivewordsoftextatatime,theeyeofthereadermustscanapicture,makingfrequentstops.

Theinformationtakeninatthesestopsisthensynthesizedintoameaningfulwholetoextractinformation.

Ofthetwotypesofimages,wordsymbolsaremorebasictoeffectivegraphiccommunication.

Languageis,afterall,theprimarymeansofhumancommunication,andwordsplayanimportantroleinthinkinganddecisionmaking.

Thewrittenwordisanextensionofthespokenword.

However,transformingwrittenspeechintowritingbypassesfacialexpression,tonalinflection,andgestures.

Therefore,itisnecessaryinpresentingawrittenmessagetomakeupforthislossby

puttingwordsinaseffectiveavisualformaspossible.

Printingisthemeansofreproducingvisualimagesformasscommunication.

Formisinextricablyinvolvedwithmessagecontentthemeaningsorideasbeingcommunicated.

Thewriterworkswithavocabularyofwordsandasyntax,whichreferstotheorderingofwordsintostructuresthatshowthewordrelationships.

Thewriterhascertainideasinmindandstructuresthewordcodessothattheywill

giverisetothesamethoughtsinthereadersmind.

Thedesignerofprintedmessagesalsoworkswithavocabularyconsistingofpoints,lines,shapes,texturesandtones.

Likethewriterthedesignercanorganisetheseelementsintoastructureorformtodirectthereadersthoughtprocesses.

Theeffectivenessofaprintedmessage,then,istheresultofthewriterandthedesignerexpressingacommonmeaning

Indifferentways,thethreemostimportantdesignsinformal,orcontrastandbalancebraceorfocusedandmodularorquadrantmanifestTPCprinciples

Informal,orContrastandBalance-

Elementsinaninformaldesignaredisplayedaccordingtotheirimportanceorreaderinterest,beginningatthetopright(wheretherighthandedmajorityofreaderslookfirst),thentopleft,backtoanddowntherighthandside,acrossthebottomtobottomleft,andthentothecenterofthepage.Thisarrangementfollowstheorderthatmostreaderswillusetolookatthepage,beforeexitingatbottomright.

Thegoalistobalancethetextandgraphicsawayfromthepage'scenterinvaryingdistances.

Whileanattractiveinformalpagedesignisanachievablegoal,thedifficultyliesinnotcreating"walls"thatwouldsplitthepageintwoorthreesections.

Brace,orFocused

Thekeyaspectofthebracedesignconceptisasingleelementusedtocreateimmediatefocusonthemajorstory.ThetopstoryisbracedbytheotherpartsofthepageelementssuchasheadlinesandphotosaresetmuchsmallerthantheNo.1story.Onallpagedesigns,theNo.1storyshouldimmediatelyarrestthereader'sattention.

Bracedesigndoesthisverywell,butproblemsariseonaroutinenewsdaywhenthereisnostorythatwarrantsabigdisplay.Unlessjustified,thetopstory'suseasthedominantelementwillgiveittoomuchemphasis.

Modular,orQuadrant

Themodularpageisbrokenintomostlyhorizontalshapeswithverticalshapestocomplementthedesign.Adominantrectangleisusuallylocatedabovethepage'smidpoint,withlargephotosandillustrationsadjacent.Whitespaceisusedtocreateabreather,especiallyaroundtheheadlines.Manyoftoday'snewspapershaveadoptedthemodulardesignbecauseitplacesthestoriesandgraphicelementsin

neatrectangularshapes.

Modulardesignallowsforboldandlightheadlinesnexttoeachother,sometimeswith

oneofthestoriessetinastandardcolumnwidthandoneinanadjacentcolumnsetina

box.Also,modulardesignencouragestheeditortoplacerelatedstoriesandgraphics

adjacenttooneanother.

Inthemodernnewspaper'sefforttohavemassappealwhilealsotargetingmetropolitanandsuburbanmarketswithdifferenteditions,avarietyofgraphicelementsarebeingutilizedtomakeamoreattractiveproduct.

Theseincludeprintingspecialtopicpagesandsections,printingphotoslarger,agreateruseofreferenceboxesatoppageoneandoninsidesectionpages,moreuseofshortdigestsofinformation,printingsmallthumbnailphotosalongwithstories,andtheuseofsixwidercolumnsratherthaneightnarrowcolumnsperpage.

Likeanyothercompetitiveproduct,newspapersconstantlylookforwaystoappearsimilartotheircompetitioninthattheyproduceavehicletoportraythenews,butalsodissimilarsotheycanattracttheirowncommittedreaders.

Whentwonewspapersinthesamecityareproducedbythesamemanagementgroup,thefactorsthatusuallybringreaderstoonepaperortheotheraretheworkschedulesofthepopulationandthedeliverytimeofthepublication.

Therefore,thetwonewspapersmaybedifferentonlyintheiruseofheadlinetypeorcaptiontypebutseldomtexttypewhiledesigningtheirpapersaccordingtosimilarguidelines.Thisisaconveniencefortheeditorsanddesignersbecauseitobviateshavingtwoextremelydifferentdesignstyles.

MAKINGTHEDESIGNSYSTEMWORK

Somenewspapershaveevolvedfromaweeklytoadaily.Othersremainaweekly,buthavegrownlarger.Onallofthesechangingpublications,adjustmentsinstaffandmanagementphilosophyoccur.Eacheditorofthepaperandeachspecializedsectionsetsupadesignidentity,beginningwiththefamiliarstyleofpageone.

Dayafterday,thereaderispresentedwithanorderlypackageofnews,featuresandstoriesinsuchspecialinterestareasassports,businessandlifestyle.

Butifthepaper'stypographyandartaretolookliketheyhaveindeedbeenpublishedasa

singleentity,asubtlebutunifieddesignphilosophyshouldbeobvioustothereader.

Designisthedeliberatearrangementofobjectstoachieveapredeterminedeffect.Ingraphics,thateffectisthetwo-dimensionalrepresentationofanabstractidea

Thenewspaperfailsasavehicleofcommunicationiftheeditorplacestheelementsonanypagebyfittingthemintoapreconceiveddesignpattern.

Itisneithercreativenorresponsivetothenewsmerelytodesignapagewithallelementslaidintoarigidformat,thenplaceeachday'sorweek'spagesoftextandgraphicsinlocationswherethemeasurementsareexactlythesameasthedayorweekbefore.

Thenewsshouldbepackagedwithalogicalsensetothetextandgraphicsrelationships,butthepackagingshouldbesubtle.Newsdoeschangefrompagetopageandsectiontosection,andthedesignshouldbealteredaccordingly.

ButiftheTotalPageConceptistobeconsistent,standardsshouldbewrittentoguidedesignersintheirplacementofheads,stories,photosandillustrativematerial.

Withonenewspaper'seditors/designersnumberingasmanyas50,therearetoomanypeopleworkingtoomanyshiftstositdownanddebatehowbesttomaintainconsistentdesign.

Consistencythroughflexiblestandardsservesatwofoldpurpose:Thestaffisabletomake

designdecisions,andthereaderislikelytoseethenewspaperasauniformlycredible

product.

Tohelpthereaderinahurry,anefficientandimaginativenewspaperpackageisvital.Elementsmustbeplacedoneachpagewithaconsciousawarenessthatthenewspaperispublishedtoconveythenewstothereader:localnewsinthecommunityweeklyandlocal,nationalandinternationalnewsinthedaily.Theamountofspaceallottedfornationalandinternationalnewswillvaryforthedailynewspaper,dependingquitesimplyonthenumberofpagesavailable.

Readerslooktotheirnewspapersforinformationandeducation:toseehowtheirtaxdollarsarebeingspentorwhattheircitycouncilorschoolboardisdoing,tofollowasportsteam,ortoreadaboutaneventoracelebrityinanotherstateoranothercountry.

Designers/editorswhocomprehendthereasonsbehindareader'sneedforputtingtimeasidetoreadthenewspaperandwhoimplementtheTotalPageConcepttoservethatneedaremorelikelytoencouragethereadertobuytheproductregularly,anditsadvertisedgoodsandservicesaswell.

Thekeystosuccessinanybusinessenterprisearetoidentifytheconsumerandthecompetition,todevelopandmarkettheproduct,andtoprovideasystemforevaluatingalloftheabove.

Becausethenewspaperpublicationbusinessisindeedabusiness,publisherswhosejobitistocreateasoundinvestmentworktobalancethenewseditorialneedsandtheprofitlossbalancesheet.Apublisher'sinterestistoattractandkeepthereaderwhileatthesametimenotspendingmoreonproductionandfrontofficesupport

thancanbeearnedbythesaleofadvertisingcolumninchesandsubscriptions. Publisherswhoaresuccessfulquicklylearnthatchangingtextorheadlinetypefaces

orcolumnwidths,addingasyndicatedcolumnistorbuyingacomicstripdoesnotguaranteereaderloyaltyorreaderinterest.

ThecharactersofHaroldHillinTheMusicManandWillieLomaninDeathofaSalesman

demonstratedfullythecommandmentthatallinthenewspaperbusinessmust

comprehend:Knowyourterritory.

Theterritoryofeachnewspaperisascertainedbylookingtoseepreciselywhoitsreadersare.Theeffectiveapplicationofdemographicsandpsychographicscanassisteditorsinpresentingnewsthatitsreadershipwantsandneeds.

WhyandHowWeRead

Inanyhumancommunicationsituationthesourceisuncertaintosomedegreeabouttheeffectthemessagewillhaveonthereceiverofthemessage.

Boththesourceaswellasthereceiverfaceproblemswithmessages.

Thesourceknowswhatistobesaid,themeaningthatistobeimparted,theideasthereaderistoacquire,hasaverbalvocabularyandavocabularycomposedofvisualelementsandaverbalandavisualsyntax.

Syntaxmeanstheorderingoftheverbalandvisualelementstoshowtheirrelationshipssothattheintendedmeaningiscorrectlyinterpretedbythereader.

Thereadermustfigureoutthemeaningforhimself,hisresponsesarenotpassiveorautomaticandthereaderisengagedinaprocessofdecisionmakingdecidingwhatmeaningsarebeingsignalled.

Ifanyoftheelements,visualorverbalareforeigntothereadersexperience,correctinterpretationwillbedifficult.

Theeffectofaproperlywrittenandproperlydesignedprintedmessageissynergistic.

Unlessyouknowthemeaningofproperlywritten,properlydesignedandsynergisticyouwillnotunderstandthemeaningofthestatementalthoughitisanaccuratestatement.

Oneofthemajorcontributionstowardunderstandingreadinghascomefromstudiesofcommunicationsystemsintheformofaprecisedefinitionofinformation.

Informationtakesanumberofdifferentformsasitmovesthroughachannelbetween

thesourceandreceiver.

Informationisthereductionofuncertaintyinthemindofitsuser.

Thereaderisengagedindecisionmakingwithrespecttocommunication.

Hehastoselectfromamongalternatives.

Therelationshipbetweentheamountofinformationreceivedandthenumberofalternativesisnotdirect.

Therelationshipbetweeninformationandalternativescanbeexpressedasameasurementofinformationcalledabit.Abitisequaltoonehalfthealternativesatanytime.

Onebitresolvestheuncertaintybetweentwoalternatives.

Twobitsresolvetheuncertaintyamongfouralternatives.

Threebitsresolvetheuncertaintyamongeightalternatives.

Therefore,howmanybitsareneededtoresolvetheuncertaintyamong64alternatives?

InformationandRedundancy

Redundancyexistswheneverinformationisavailabletothereaderfromtwoormoreplaces.

Amessageisredundantifitcontainsmoreinformationthanitneedsto.

Intermsofinformationtheory,uncertaintyornumberofalternativescanbereducedintwoormoreways.

Thisimpliesthatashortermessagecoulddeliverthesameinformation.

TheEnglishlanguageinprintoffersanexcellentexample.Sequencesoflettersareredundantsomelettersshowupmorefrequentlythanothers.

Theletterse,t,a,i,oandnaremostfrequentwhereaszandyseldomappear.

Doesanyletterotherthanufollowq?

IthasbeenestimatedthatEnglishismorethan50percentredundant.

Whataboutredundancyinpictures?

Testshavecharacterisedpredictableshapesinthismanner:

Theytendtobesymmetrical Theyinvolvestraightlinesorlineschanginginaregularmanner Theytendtoinvolvefewangles

Amajorpurposeofredundancyistosavereaderstimeanddifficultyinunderstanding

whattheyreadbyincreasingpredictability.

Whydoweread?

Becausewemust.

Humansandanimalsareprogrammedtoa)seekoutinformation,b)selectfromthetotalandputintoproperformwhatispotentiallyusefultomaketheirwaythroughlife,c)organizetheinformationintoamemorystoreandd)retrieveinformationfrommemoryforuseindecisionmaking.

Theorganizationofinformationandexperienceinmemoryiscalledcognitivestructure.

Thebuildingofcognitivestructurebeginswithperceptuallearningwhichistheprocessbywhichwe.

Determinewhatthethingsandeventsintheworldaroundusareand

Organizethemintoourunderstandingoftheworld.

Thisprocessislifelong.Thisiswhyourworldviewisconstantlybeingchanged.

Therefore,intermsofinformationtheory,aperceptionisthereductionofuncertaintyaboutwhatthingsandeventsthatconfrontusare.

However,wecannotperceivetheworldasitreallyis.

Oursensesaregrosslyinadequate.

Theworldexistsasadynamicwhirlofenergyinauniverseofenergybuttheenergyformwecalllightwavesthatoureyescandetectgivesbutlittlehintaboutwhatthingsreallyare.

Perceptuallearningleadustotheformationofcategoriesanddiscoveriesofinterrelationshipsamongthem.

Tocallsomethingachairistonoteitssimilaritiestootherchairsandignoreany

differences.Thesesimilaritiesarecalleddefiningfeatures.

Definingfeaturesmaybevisiblefeaturessuchassizeandshapeortheymaybesemantic.

Onecandistinguishbetweenaknifeandaforkvisually.Whenboththesearecategorisedastablewareweknowsomethingoftheirinterrelationshipandweareatahigherlevelofabstraction.

Definingfiguresserveasinformationbecausetheyreduceuncertainty.

Wordsymbolsliealongacontinuumfromtheconcretetothehighlyabstract.

Nandinicowlivestockfarmassetsassetswealth.

Wehavemovedfromanametoamoreconcretecowandfromtheretoanabstractideaofwealth.

Picturestooliealongasimilarcontinuum.

Photographs,especiallyincolour,wouldbethemostdirectrefeencetotherealworldwhereasillustrations,paintings,drawingsgenerallytendtobelessdirectandarerenderedinvaryingdegreesofabstraction.Byabstractionwemeanfirsttheenhancementofthosefeaturesofacategorythatbestidentifyit(makeitrecognisable)andsecond,thesuppressionofthosefeatureswhicharenotgenerictothatis,notbasictocomprehendingit(perceivingitsrelationshipstoothercategories)

Thecommunicatorfacesdelicatechoicesinfindingtheproperlevelofabstractedness

Willatruelifephotographservebest? Perhapsthesubjectcanbehighlightedandthebackgroundsubduedoreliminated. Cancirclesorpointingdevicesbesuperimposedonthereproductionofthe

photographdodrawattentiontodefiningfeatures? Perhapsadiagramcanmoreeffectivelydeliveracomplicatedmessagethatcould

onlybepresentedverballyinadullrecitationoffactsandfigures.

TheHumanIPS

Threebasicsubsystemscharacteriseanyinformationprocessingsystem(IPS)

Input Informationprocessing Output

Whatiscomprehension?

Understandingthecontentormeaningofthemessage.

But,whatismeaning?

Thechieforderedthepolicetostopallgambling.Whatisthemeaningofthisstatement?Isthemeaningthesametoeverybody?

Meaningintermsofinformationprocessingisthereductionofuncertaintytothepoint

thatthereceiverfeelssatisfiedthatheorsheunderstands.

Ifthesourcedidhisorherjobproperlyandalluncertaintyisreducedatthereceiverend,onlyonemeaningcanresult.Thesourceandthereceiverwillbeofonemind.ThiswhatisenvisagedintheIndiancommunicationtheoryofSadharanikaran.

Informationstoredinmemory

Ahypotheticalandpartialmemorynetworkthatrelatesthecowtootherlivingorganismscanhelpusprocessinformationbetter.Forinstance,cowfourleggedvertebrateherbivoremammallivingorganism.Informationarrangedhierarchicallyinthismannerfromlowleveltohighlevelabstractioncanbeprocessedfaster.

Thestructureofstoredinformationcan,thereforebeconsideredfromthestandpointofa)thewholeformedbytherelationshipsofsubordinatecomponentsorb)thepartinrelationshipstothewhole.

Arecowsfourlegged?TheansweryestothisquestionwouldbefarmoreimmediatethanthesameanswertothequestionArecowsmammals.

Categories,togetherwiththeirattendantfeaturesseemtobestoredinmemory.Whentheprintedimageswordsorpicturesareperceived,thereisareactionwithinthetotalnetworkofknowledge.

STM-LTM

ShorttermmemoryorSTMandlongtermmemoryorLTMarenotlocationsoraplaceinthebrain.TheseareprocessesorsubsystemsofthetotalIPS.

AssoonasinformationentersthehumanIPSanabstractionprocessbegins.

InformationentersasubsystemoftheSTMcalledtheVisualSTMorSensoryStorewhereitpersistsperhapsforasecondorso.

FromtheSensoryStoryabstractedinformationmovestoSTM.

Eitheratthetimetheinformationissensedorwhileitisstillinsensorystage,visualinformationistransformedintoneuralcodes.

Pictureimages,itisbelieved,arenormallytransformedintoiconicorvisualcodes.Wordimagesaretransformedeitherintoauditoryorsemanticcodeorvisualoriconiccode.

Somesituationsareeasiertoresolveifwordsymbolsaretransformedintoaniconiccodeallowingthereadertoimagewhatispresentedverbally.

WatchtheprocessesinyourbrainasyouanswerthisquestionHowmanystairsare

therebetweenthefirstandthesecondfloorofyourbuilding?AreyouusingSTMorLTM

toanswerthequestion?

ThedurationofinformationinSTMisrelativelybriefandthecapacityofSTMislimitedtofivetoeightunrelatedunitssuchasrandomletters.

Whenwereadwords,theeyetakesininformationonlyatstopsorfixations.Fourorfivemeaningfullyrelatedwords(perhaps25to30letters)canbeseen,heldinSTM,andprocessedthatis,beinterpretedtobecuesforreducinguncertaintyinonesecondbyanefficientreader.

Thentheeyejumpstoanotherfixation.

Itisduringthesejumps,calledsaccades,thatprocessingormatchupwithLTMinformationoccurs.

Thus,processingofverbalinformationinauditorycodesproceedsserially. Itistheorised,ontheotherhand,thatpictures,transformedintovisualcodes,can

behandledbyparallelprocessing.

Onehastomoveoneseyesalonglinesoftypewithwordsfallingwithinanareaofnarrowfocus.Informationfrompicturesisnotlimitedtothisnarrowarea.Suchvisualimagescanbemorequicklyrecognised.

Eachnewspaperisdifferent.

Thestaffsfornewseditorial,advertising,clericalandpressroomareunlikeanyotherpaper,regardlessofthesizeofthecommunity.

Evenifthecommunityhasthesamepopulationasanother,itmayhavemoreorfewernewspapersubscribers.

Employmentopportunitiesaredifferent,aswellastheagesandeducationofthe

people,theweatherandtheleisureactivitiesavailable.

Allthatthenewspaperfacilityhastoofferinpersonnelandequipmentandallthatthecirculationareaitselfoffersmixtogetherasthenewspaperaimstoserveitsreadership.

Thebalanceofnewscontentandpresentationmustcomplementthereaders'needs.

Editorshaverealizedthroughmarketingstudiesandtheimprovementofallmediasystemsthatpeoplearedemandingbetterproductsfortheirmoney.

Newspapersareaconsumerproduct.Lookingatnewspapersasaproductorpackagehasopenedmanyeditors'eyestothefactthatappearanceandcontentmustgohandinhandtocompeteforconsumerattentionandmoney.

Newspapermanagement'sgoalistoreachthelargestnumberofhouseholds;toeffectthis,managementneedstomeetthecommunity'sexpectationsandtobeconsistentinatimeoftighteconomy.

Thesuccessfulnewspaperusesthemostsophisticatedmarketmethodsinmonitoringits

readership.

Areaderpurchasesaparticularnewspaperforavarietyofreasons,mostlyrelatedtoasensedinformationneedorasenseofidentitywiththecommunitythatthepaperserves.

Thepurchasemaybeoneofconveniencethetimeofdaythatthepaperisavailableorperhapsthisistheonlynewspaperthatcoverscommunitynewsindepth.Inaddition,thedeliveryornewsstandpricemightbelessthanthatofthecompetition,orthereadermaylikethepaper'suseofcolor,thestories'lengthsortheamountorqualityofphotos.

Anewspaper'ssurvivalisdirectlyrelatedtoitsseeingthevalueofastrongproductand

makingacorrectmeasurementoftheproduct'srecipients.

Ifyou'regoingtotrytosurvivewithundereducatedwritersandcorrespondents,withlowqualityphotos,withsloppygraphics,designandpoorpresswork,you'rekiddingyourself.

Youwon'tmakeitwithadpeoplewhoaremerelypickupclerksratherthanaggressive,innovativesalesmen.

Survivalwillbedifficultwitheditorsandreporterswhoaren'ttunedintunedinnotonlytoyourcommunity,buttoyourarea,yourstate,countryandtheworld.

Editorsoftenmakeassumptionsaboutreadersthathavenobasisinfact.

Therefore,researchisnecessarytoestablishwhatreaderswantinapaper'sparticular

market.

Researchthatisspeciallyprepared,becausemanysurveysdealheavilywiththepaper'scontentratherthanappearance.

Threeimportantfactorsshouldbeestablishedfromdesignresearch

thenatureofthemarketandthelifestylesandattitudesofthepeopleinit

thenatureofthenewspaperand

thenatureofthecompetition.

Readers'needsarefoundthroughdemographicandpsychographiccritiques.

Demographicsarethestatisticskeptaboutpopulationsrelatedtorecordsofbirths,deaths,marriagesanddiseases.Psychographicsarethequantitativedataabouttheactivities,interestsandopinionsofapopulationthatdescribesegmentsbytheindividualandcollectivelifestylesoftheirrespectivemembers.However,thesecritiquesmustbedonecarefullyThepapershouldreflectincontentwhatthereadershipwantstoread,andindesignwhateverisappropriatetothespecificaudience'sinterests.

Partoftheenticementtoreadisembodiedinthecontentofthenews:thesubjectsandstoriesthatarewrittenabout,andhowwelltheyarewritten.

Butthenewsdepartmentmustcontendwithmuchmorethanthat.

Tokeepthereaderengaged,anattractivedesignutilizingtheTotalPageConceptmustbepresented.

Thisiswhyitiscrucialthateditorsknowtheiraudience,knowhowtomakerealisticdecisionsonwhatisrun,andplanhowstoriesandgraphicswillbedisplayedinthepreciousspaceavailable.

UNDERSTANDINGWHATNEWSIS

Ifnewsisthepaper'scentralpurposeandthereasonreaderspurchasethepaper,thenewsstaffshoulddoitsbesttoservethatpurposewithwellwrittenandtightlyeditedstoriesandtheuseofstrong,purposefulgraphics.

Peoplewhoreadthenewspaperfrequentlytakeitastheirownpersonalpossession,anextensionofthecommunity'spersonality.Readersmakejokesaboutthepaperaboutitsname,orthetimesome(localoroutside)personality'snamewas

misspelledorawrongphotoidentificationwasmade. However,thelocalpaperisalsothefirstplacethatpeopletaketheirwedding

announcement,orlookfora"writeup"aboutafamilymemberelectedtoofficeinacommunityorganization,orastoryaboutahighschoolorcollegeteam'soutcomeinasportsevent.

Herearesomeinterestinginsightsintowhatnewsis:

Localnewscoverage,nomatterhowyoudefineit,mustnotbeshortchanged. Localnewsneedsstrongwritingandcapablepeopletoreportit.Itcan'tbeleftto

clerksandstringers.Goodreportersandgoodeditorsareessential. Readersarebecomingmoresophisticatedeveryday.Theyknowwhenastoryis

coveredandwrittencorrectlyorwhenitisjustlefttoanonprofessional. It'smorethanrunningthephotoofthehomecomingqueen.

Asthecommunitymarketandthenewspaper'spolicyaresimultaneouslyreviewed,

muchconsiderationmustbegiventowhythepublicpurchasesthepaper.Usually,thereasongivenis:"Ican'tgetalongwithoutknowingwhatisgoingoninthecommunity."

Inadditiontoreadingaboutsocialactivities,thecommunity'scitizenswanttoreadstories

about:

howtheirtaxmoneyisbeingspent newdevelopmentsintheeducationoftheirchildren voteroptionsforelections meetingsofgovernmentalbodies theeffectsofcommunitygrowthand implicationsofthelocalcrimerate.

Inthe1520minutestheaveragereaderspendswiththepaper,only10percentto12

percentofthenewsisread.

Researchindicatesthatreadersclassifyinformationinthepaperintotwoareas:

informationthatisinterestingand/orusefuland

informationthatisnotinterestingand/oruseful.

Newspaperreadersfeelthattheirpurchaseofthepaperinvolvesanunspokencontract:Thenewspaperisthevehicletheyhavechosenfordiscoveringnewscontent,butfindingitshouldnotbeamatterofchance.

Interesting,pertinentinformation,especially"hardnews"storiesthestoriesthatreadersshouldknowabouttobeinformedcitizensmustbecarefullywrittenandcreatively

displayed.

Designpurposemustmakesensetothereaderevenifonlysubliminally.

Excellenceinwritingisnolesscrucial,butthistoocanbehelpedbydesign.Ifthestory'simportantpointsaremadeintheleadparagraphandseveralthatfollow,andifsubheadsareprintedboldlyenoughwithsufficientwhitespacearoundthemtoprovidedirection,thenthereadershouldcorrectlyperceivethestory'simportance,catchitsmainpointsandbesatisfied.

Whetherpresenting"hard"or"soft"news,itisvitalthatreporters,editorsandgraphicdesignersrealizetheimportanceoftellingthestorycompletely.

Thisisbecausepublicationisaonewaymedium.Thereaderwhodoesnotunderstandthestoryisnotlikelytopickupatelephoneandgetintoatwowayconversationwiththewritertohavethestoryclarifiedbutislikelytobuyanothernewspaper,ifithappenstoooften.

Editorstakeveryseriouslytheirtaskofpresentingthenewsinaformquicklygraspedbythebusyreader.

Perhapstheyshouldthinkabouteachstorythatappearsinnewspapersasthoughthey

wouldhavetoselleachoneindividuallyataprofit,ratherthanassumepeoplewantthem

becausetheyarepartoftheentirepackage.

Newspapershavetriedmanyexperimentsontheirinsidepages,onsectionfrontsandontheirsofterfeaturesbut,withfewexceptions,radicalchangeshavenotbeentriedonthenewspagesthemselves.

Thisisbecausemostnewseditorsbelievethattreatinghardnewslightlymighttakeawayfromthepaper'snewsintegrity.

Nevertheless,thenewspagessetthetoneforaTPCdesignednewspaper.

Sincenewspagesmustclearlysignalstoryimportance,theyshouldhavenolessvitalityto

themthantherestofthepaper.

Onallofitspagesthenewspapermustberecognizedbyeditorsandreadersasavisualmedium.

Themosaicofshapesandsizesinaparticularpaperwillbechosenbytheharriedreaderonlyifthereisanimmediatelyunderstoodorganizationofgraphicsandwords.

Organizationmakesthenewsaccessible,anditclarifiesthepaper'ssensitivitytoreaders'needs.

Anewspaper'sphilosophyregardingitsnewssectionscanbedeterminedbyexamininghowthoroughlyitsstoriesareedited,howitsphotosandillustrativeartaredisplayed,andtherolethattheartdepartmenthasplayedinmakingdecisions.

Theimportantpointisthebeginning

Integrationisachievedwhentheartandnewsdepartmentshavebothgivencarefulthoughttothefinalproductfromitsconceptiontocompletion.

If,fromtheinceptionofthestory,thedesignerisinvolvedintheprocess,hemightsay,"Whileyou'reoutgettingthestoryonthewatershortageandthelongqueuesbeforemunicipaltapsperhapsyou'dwanttogetdetailsofhowwaterisconsumed,howpeopleslivesareplannedaccordingtowhenthewaterwillcomeandgetamapofthecityshowingwhenthereisawatercutandwhere.

Wemightdecidenottodothetraditionalstory,butmakealistofthesuburbswithamapsothereaderwouldgetthekindofinformationheneedsinhisdailylifefromthestoryratherthanwritingastoryandsimplyshowingapictureofpeopleinqueues.

Thisisastructuralapproachthathelpscomplementthenarrativeone.

InsettingupguidelinesfortheTotalPageConcept,theartdepartmentisconsideredapartnerwiththenewsdepartment.

Theartandnewsstaffsmayhavebeenonlylikedistantrelativesatonetime,butnowtheyareworkinghandinhandonmanynewspapers.

Thenewsdepartmenthasitsownspecialgraphicsneeds. Papersarenowhiringillustratorswhocancreatedrawingsandmakechartstohelp

tellthenewsstories,justasphotographersareemployedtoportraythenewsinpictures.

Amongthegraphicdesignquestionsthatdynamic,growingnewspaperstaffsmust

address,themostbasicinclude:

Doesthenewspaper'sartdepartmentactuallyserveasanadvertisingsupportdepartment,oraresomeartpeoplebeingintegratedintothenewsdepartment?

Isthereaplanfortrainingnewseditorsintheuseofgraphicsandinworkingwithorasartdepartmentpeople?

Doesthenewspaperhaveagraphicseditororeditorialdesigner;and,ifso,isthisindividualpartofthenewsteam,ornewstrainedenoughtoprovideinputwhenthepaperisondeadline?

Forapublicationtobesuccessfulinthecomputerage,itseditorialstaffmembersneedtounderstandthefunctionofart.

Likewise,theartdepartmentthattrulycomplementsthenewsdepartmenthasadepartmentheadandstafferswhoparticipateinnewsmeetingswiththenewseditors

andreportersthiskindofarrangementalsoserveswellthepurposeofthenewspaper:toprovidethefullstory,inwrittenandgraphicterms.

NEWSPAPERDESIGNANDLAYOUT

Ofalltheprintedmediaofcommunication,theonethathasplacedtheleastemphasisonformthroughouthistoryhasbeenthenewspaper.

Theresulthasbeenpredictable:thedevelopmentofamediumwhoseappearancehaspaledincomparisonwithmagazines,booksandotherprintedliterature.

Designersofprintedmediaforyearshavepointedtonewspapersasthemostawkward,leastattractiveandleastreadableofthesemedia!

Whynewspapershavebeenmadeupandnotdesigned

Problemsofformat

Broadsheetsareabout15incheswideand23inchesdeep.

Theyareofconsiderablebulkwithscoresofpagesandseveralsectionsbeingcommon.

Thelargesizeismoreanhistoricalaccidentandtheyarestillwithusbecausewehaveinvestedinequipmentthatcandealwithjustthesesizes.

TheBritishnewspapersadoptedthebroadsheetsizetocircumventataxbasedonthenumberofpages.

TheAmericansfollowedsuit. ThedevelopmentofthePennyPressintheAmericajustbeforetheCivilWar

resurrectedasmallerpagesizetoattractanewaudienceoffactorylabourers. Ataboutthesamesomebusinessorpoliticallyorientednewspaperswentto

extremelylargeformatstheyhadpagesthreefeetwideandfivefeetdeepandwerecalledblanketpapers.

Heavyinvestmentinsteampoweredpressesandrelatedmachinessuchasfoldersthatwereintroducedinthoseyearsmadeitimpossibletoexperimentwithsizeandwewerestuckwiththenowstandardbroadsheetnewspapers.

Thetabloid,becauseitishalfthesizeofthebroadsheet,fittedthestandardequipment,withoneadditionalfoldbeingtheonlyspecialrequirementforproduction.

Unfortunatelyfornewspaperreaders,theuseofthetabloidhasbeenlimitedbecauseitwastarredwithalabelofsensationalismwhenitfirstcameintouseintheUS.

Letslookatthereasonswhynewspapersarenotonlyawkwardbutalsoleastattractiveorevenunattractive!

Themeresizeofthebroadsheetmakesfunctional,attractivearrangementofelementsdifficult.

Newspapersusemonotypographicheadlines(allfontsfromthesamefamily).

Stringentheadlineschedulesthatprescribelimitedtypographicalpatternshavebeenthe

norm.

Narrownewspapercolumnsandtheresultantverticalflowofdesignelementsthathavebeenacharacteristicofnewspapersforyearshavealsonotbeentheresultofmerewhim.

Primarynewspaperfinancialsupportcomesfromadvertisingandcolumninchesandagatelineshavebeenthebasisforspaceratestoadvertisers.

Thuspracticaleconomicshasfavourednarrowcolumns:narrowingcolumnsresultsinmoreagatelinesandcolumninchesperpage,andwideningproducesfeweragatelinesandcolumninchesperpage.

Becausenewspapershavealwaystriedtosqueezeasmuchinformationintotheircolumnsaspossible,hasalwaystendedtobetoosmall.

Thesamepressurehasalsokeptadequateleadingfromhelpingthereaderandthelong,narrowverticalcolumnshavemadereadersstrugglethroughunusuallyshortlinesastheyhavesoughtouttheirnews.

Displaytypehasbeencrowdedintopositionwithoutadequatewhitespaceforittodoitsworkeffectively.

Whyhavenewspapersgottenawaywithit?

Asimpleruleindesignistheimportanceofgraphicdesignvariesinverselywiththeinterestofthereadergreatertheinterestthelessimportantthegraphics.

Thissituationisnowchangingbecausereadersmediaconsumptionischanging.

TimesareChangingSoareNewspapers

EffectsofTelevision

Adirectimpactoftelevisionhasbeenthatnewspapershavelosttheiradvertisingtotelevision.

Readertimehasbeenlosttoo. Therehasbeenanincreasingpassivenesstowardmediathedevelopmentof

watchersratherthanreaders. Televisionnewsismorerealtime. Newspapersareforcedtoredesign,providegreaterdepthoftreatmentand

additionalanalysisaswellasspecializationanddepartmentalization.

EffectofMagazines

Aresurgenceofmagazines,includingtherevivalofsomegeneralconsumergreatsofthepastbutespeciallyamongthespecializedandregionaltypes,alsoisaffectingnewspaperdesign.

Magazineshavebeenjoiningsuburbannewspapersandfreecirculationshoppersincompetingwithmetropolitandailiesforlocal,state,andregionaladvertising.

Ifnewspapersaretomeetsuchcompetitionsuccessfullytheirappearancemustmatchthehighqualityofmagazines.

EffectsofNewProductionTechnology

Offsetprintingisthemostcommonlyusedreproductionsystemforallmediaandhasimpacteddesigninnewspapersoverall.

Withoffsetprinting,illustrationscanbehandledmoreeconomically,moreefficientlyandwithmuchbetterresults.

Arrangementofelementsonapageisnolongerlimitedtotheunbendingrightanglesofmetaltypeengravings.

Coldtypeareacompositionandperhapsmostspectacularly,paginationbycomputerandcathoderaytubetypesettershaveforcedtotalrethinkingofnewspaperdesignandmakeuptodevelopingcomputerassistedpagelayoutsystemsandtemplates.

DesigningNewsSpace

Thepublic'sappetitefornewsandinformationisneverfulfilled.

Thepublicwantsallthenews,thebadandthesadalongwiththegoodandtheglad.Itwantstoenjoythebestofthenewsandlearnhowtocopewiththerestofit.

Itwantstolookbeyondthecolortothecontent,beyondthecosmeticstotheconsistency,beyondthepromotiontotheproduct,beyondtheimmediateemotionstothelogicalconclusions.

Itwantsitsmediatokeepupwithitsneedsandadapttoitslifestyleanditdoesnotbuytheoldwaywe'vealwaysdoneitviewsofeditorsandpublisherswhodonotthinkanythingshouldbetriedforthefirsttime

Pagesarenotjustbroughttogetherbymagicevenbyadesigneditor.Sequence,ortheplacingofelementsonthepageinaprescribedorder,isessentialtodesigningnewsspace.

Whenadvertisementsareincludedonapage,theyareplacedfirst,bytheadvertisingdepartment.Thenthenewsdepartmenttakesover,placingphotosandillustratedartnext,andheadlineandtexttypelast.

Thisplacementorderistherulebecause:

advertisingsizesmustbeexactlyastheyhavebeensoldtoclients

photosandheadlinescanbesizedsomewhatsmallerorlarger,buttheycannotbecut

orenlargeddrasticallytofitaspaceand

texttypecanbesettofitaspace,orthestorycanbetightenedorcontinuedonanotherpage.

NEWSPAGEDESIGNSTRATEGIES

Newspagesparticularlyneedaspecialdesignstrategytoconveyeachstoryeffectively,whichwillnecessarilyberelatedtonewsjudgment.

Thebeststoryofthedaymaynothaveorneedarttoaccompanyitthebestartmaynothavesufficientimportancetobeonpageoneoranywhereelseamongthestraightnewspages.

Aninsignificantnewsitemorphotoshouldneverreceiveundueplayorbeslantedoreditedwithoutconsiderationfortheintegrityofthenews.

Oneofthemaindifficultieswithelevatingtheimportanceofdesignhasbeentheeverpresentpressureofthedeadline.Theremaybeastorypartiallywrittenwithitsartyettocome,andthepageisondeadline.Abeautifulpagethatimpelspeopletoreaditbecauseofitscontentanddesignisonething,buteverynewseditorevendespitethepleasofthestrongestgraphicseditorhastogowiththegraphicsthatarepresentatdeadline.

Areader'sresponsetostoriesisencouragedorimpairedbytheir"play"orplacementon

thepage.

Pageoneisthepagebywhichtheremainderofthenewspaperismeasuredintermsofstoriesanddesign.Itiswherethereaderinitiallybecomesacquaintedwiththepaper,andwhileitchangeswitheveryeditionandeverydayitslookistheproduct'sinstantidentity,positiveornegative.

Thecloseproximityoffrontpagetextandartcancausethemtocompetewithoneanother.

Ifthedesignfailstodirectthereaderthroughthepage,hisorherinterestwillbe

redirectedtootheroptionsincludingnotreadingthenewspaperatall.

Newspapershavechangedovertheyearsaseditorshaverealizedthevalueofincorporatingadesignconceptthatunitesthewholenewspaper.Corollarytothisisthewayinwhichthefrontpagestorycounthaschanged.

Today,thefrontpageofmanybroadsheetnewspapersrarelyreportmorethanahalfdozenevents.Thisisareductionfromeightadecadeagoandthenumberoftypecolumnshasgonefromeighttosix,ortofiveinsomecases.

Whilehavingfewerstoriessometimesgivesusaharderdecisiononwhichstoriesweshouldrunonthefront,italsogivesusacleanerlookingpageandtheopportunitytomorevisuallyplayupsomeoftheotherpotentialfrontpagestoriesonothernewspages.

Segmentingastorybreakingitintosmallerunitsmakesitlessforbiddingtothereaderthanthesamestoryrunasanashengraymassoftype,andappearinglong.

Thisisespeciallytruefornewsstoriesandnewssections.

Segmentingcanbeaccomplishedinanyoneofseveralways

Itmaybeaphotothatcatchesyoureyeorthecaptionthattellsalittlebitaboutit. Itmaybethequoteorsplittingthestoryasthreedifferentphaseswitha14point

introexplainingwhatyouaredoing.

Segmentinggivesyoumorechancestocatchtheeyeofthereaderandgethiminterested.

Thedesigneditorisgivenmorechoicestoworkwithwhensegmentingwithinamodularmakeupisthepaper'sstyle.

Themorepartsyouhave,themorewaystoarrangethem,groupthem.Withonelongstory,theonlyoptionmightbetodoanLshapewraparoundapicture.

Anothervalueofsegmentingisthatitcansavespace.

Thoughthenewspaperisamessengerofbothgoodandbadtidings,theconsistencyofitsdesignwillimproveitschancesofbeingreceivedfavorably,especiallyifitscontentsarewellorganizedandthereforeeasilyread,rightfromthestartonpageone.

FRONTPAGEANDNEWSSECTIONSPECIFICS

Thefrontpage,ineffect,isthecorporateidentity,itistheprimerealestateinjournalism

Pageoneistheentrywaythroughwhichthereaderapproachestheentirenewspaper.

Inordertobeworthwhiletothereader,pageonemustprovidedirectaccesstoitsowncontent

aswellastotheremainderofthenewspaper.

Primecontentandattractivegraphicsareagoodbeginningbut,goingbeyondthat,theexistenceorlackofaneasytoreadindexandrelatedtypographicalelementswilleitherguidethereaderintoorsteerthereaderawayfromtheinsidepages.

Aquickindexshouldbeprovidedonpageoneevenifamorecompleteindexcallitnewssummary,briefs,capsulesor"What'sInside"appearsonpagetwoorthree.

Readerswilloftenfirsttakenoticeofasummaryreferringtomoredetailsonaninside

pagethentheyreadthroughthewholenewspaper,andcheckbackwiththesummarytomakecertainthatnothingofinteresthasbeenmissed.

Editorswhochoosetousenewssummarycolumnsandboxesmayhavethebestofbothworlds,"Schweitzerreported.

Theymayincreasethereaderappealofthefrontpageandkeepthestorycounthighatthesametime.Acorollaryfactwouldbethatsummariesincreasestorycountandenhanceamoderntabloidformatwhichisnottobeconfusedwiththesensationaltabloidnewspapers.Newssummaryitemsmaybepublishedonpagetwoorthreeoronpageoneasatwocolumn"chimney."Someitemsreferreaderstofullstoriesonotherpages,andotherscanbecompleteinthemselves.

Onthedayofanimportantbreakingstory,itmaybeworthwhiletoscrapthetraditionalpageonesummaries,andtousetheentirepageforfullstoryandartcoverageofthebigevent.

Photographsofindividualfacesthumbnailsizearecommonlyusedonthefrontpageandthroughoutthepaper.

Anactionphototakenduringanewseventevenwhenitshowsfacialexpressionalonewillalwayshavemoreimpactthanaphotomadeofthesamepersonataprofessionalportraitstudio.Ineverycase,thepersonshouldstillbeidentifiabledespitethephotoreduction.

Clearoropenpagesarerelativelyeasytodesignifthereareenoughstoriesandarttouse.However,whetherclearorincludingadvertisements,thepagedesignshouldhaveonedominantelementapieceofartor,ifthisisnotpossible,awelldisplayedstorytoprovideaplacefortheeyetobeginreading.

Elementsthatanchorthepagecornerswherethereisnoadvertisingarealsoimportantforinsidepages,especiallyclearpages,andmaybedonebyavarietyofmethods:screeningastory,runningashortinformationalbox,orprintingastandingfeatureorcolumn.

Whiletherestofthenewspaperchangesitscontentdisplaywitheachissue,theopinions/editorialpageshouldprovidefromdaytoday(orweektoweek)asimilardesignformatincludingeditorials,columns,lettersandotherfeatures,sothatthereadercancountonatleastthisonepagetolookreassuringlypredictable.

Theop/edpagemightalsocontainthenamesofthekeyeditorsandthenewspaper'smailingaddress,phonenumberandletterspolicyplacedwheretheycanbeeasilyfoundbyreaderswantingtowritealettertotheeditororotherwisecontactsomeoneatthenewspaperoffice.

DESIGNINGNEWS/ADVERTISINGCOMPLEMENTS

Insidepagesareseldomopendisplaypages.Storylengthsandgraphicelementsmustcompeteforthebalanceofspaceavailablethedesignerreceivespagesaftertheadvertisinghasbeenplacedonthem.

Pageswithadvertisingespeciallywithmanyadsorafewverylargeonesneedtobedesignedsothereaderwillmissneitherthestoriesnortheadvertising.

Itfollows,then,thatabasicunderstandingofadvertisingisneededinordertodesign

newsspace.

Facingtheformidablecompetitionoftelevision'scolorandmovement,newspaper

advertisingdepartmentshavehadtochangetheiroldwaystoattractreaders.

Advertiserswhoonceexclusivelyusednewspaperstoselltheirproductsnolongerdoso.

Today,newspaperadvertisementsmustlurethereaderimmediatelytotheadthroughdesign.Thereadermustnoticesomethingintheadworthpurchasing.

Whilesomepagessuchasthefrontpage,theopinion/editorialpage,aphotosectionoraspecialsectionpagemaybeadfree,mostpageswillhaveoneormoreadvertisements.Sizeanddesignarethekeystoadvertisingreadership,notpositiononthepage.

Adsshouldalwaysbedesignedwiththeideathatadvertisingisnews,too.

Apoorlydesignedadwillnotonlyhavepoorreadership,butwillalsodetractthereader

fromtheentirepage.

Basedontheadsizesthathavebeensold,advertisementsmaybeplacedhorizontallyacrossthebottomofthepage,verticallystackedasachimneyofsamesizeadsontheleftorrighthandside,inaverticalpyramidorstairstepmanner(alsooneithertheleftorrightside)orsomecombinationofthese.

ItisuptotheAdDepartmenttodetermineifawellorpyramidrightlayoutshouldbeused.

ButaNewsDepartmentlayoutpolicywhich,forinstance,hasabriefscolumndowntheleftsideofeachpagemustbeconsidered.

Horizontaladvertisingprovidesthebestpagedesignpossibilitiesbecausejaggededgesaroundtheadsareavoided.However,horizontaladpagesrequirethemostcooperationfromtheadvertisingdepartmentsincealladsorcombinationsofadsdonotnecessarilyfitintoaperfectlylevelhorizontalline.

Ontheotherhand,whatbringspeopletoanadisnotitsplacementonthepage,but

thecontentoftheaditself.

Creatinghorizontaladlinesmayresultin"burying"anadplacingitinsuchawaythatnopartofanynewsstorytouchesitwhichisgenerallyconsideredundesirable.

Thiswouldhappenifyouhadthreetwobyfourads[twocolumnswidebyfourinchesdeep]andtwotwobytwoadsacrossthebottomofapage.Thetwobytwoatthebottomwouldbe"buried."

Thisissomewhatofanoldfashionedidea,andnolongerseemstobethesignitoncewas.

Afterall,theideaassumedthatreadersonlyreadadsaccidentallyastheyfinishednewsstories.

Today,newsandadvertisementsaretreatedintermsofdesigninsuchamannerthat

visuallytheyappearinsynergy.

Newsandadsarenotseparatebutpartofacompositewholeideacalledthenewspaper.

Advertisementsmustnotonlyconformtospacelimitationstheymustbewrittenaccuratelyandclearlyiftheirmessageistoreachthereaderandselltheproductoridea.Poorlydesignedadsorthosewithlanguageerrorsinthemorillustrationsofpoorquality,takeawayfromnewseditorialpresentation.

Advertisementsarebuiltonthemessagethatthetypographysendstoreaders.Asa

complementtothetype,illustrations,logos,drawingsandphotosoftheproductmaybe

usedinads.

Anewspaperwithoneormorestaffartistswhospecializeinadvertisingartislikelytohavesomelatitudewhenitcomestohowanadvertisementwillbecreated.

Theartistworksdirectlywiththeadvertisingsalesdepartment,receivesinformationfromthesalespeople,goestothelocationoftheproducttomakesketches,orcombinesadvertisersuppliedandoriginalartwithtypeavailableatthenewspaper.

However,anewspaperwithaverysmalladvertisingstaffandaparttimeoronlyonefulltimeartistmustworktouseeffectivelytheresourcesoftheartistalongwithclipbooksandthematerialssuppliedbytheadvertiser.

Puristsmightsaythateditorialworkersdon'tneedtobeawareofwhatadsareona

page.ss

Let'ssayyou'reeditingacommunitynewspaperandyou'rerunningawirestorytellingthatanautomobilecarcompanywasforcedtorecallamillioncarswithfaulty

brakes.Thestorynaturallydeservescoverage,buttherearebetterplacestorunthatstorythandirectlyontopofyourlocalcardealer'sbiggestadoftheyear.

Thisisnotfavoritism,norisitsacrificingofjournalisticethics.Itismerelygoodcommon

sense.

Thenewsandadvertisingdepartmentstaffsshouldseethemselvesasworkingtowardasinglecommongoal:providingthebestpossiblesourceofinformationforthereadership.

Inanidealcomplement,theadvertisingdepartmentalertsthenewsdepartmentaboutspecialadvertisingneeds,anddeliverstothenewsroomontimedummiedandproofedfinalpagesthatareofasizeindicatedonthedummiesandthathaveattractiveartandtype.

Thisrequirescoordinatedeffortfromeditorsandmanagersofthetwodepartments,whomustcommunicatefrequentlyandmakeoccasionalcompromises.

DesigningTabloidNewsSpace

It'samistaketotreatatabloidpagesimplyasaminiaturebroadsheetpage.Whileyoucan'tfitasmuchmaterialonit,youshouldcreatetheimpressionthatjustasmuchishappeningasonafullsizedpage.

Somenewspapershavegonetoatabloidorpulloutmagazinefortheirentertainmentstories,thetelevisionlistingsorspecialcommunitydaycelebrations.Therefore,indiscussingtabloidnewspaperdesign,itisprimarytohaveaclearunderstandingthatatabloidisnotsimplyaminiatureorhalfsizestandardbroadsheetnewspaperturnedsideways.

Indeed,thetabloiddemandsitsownspecialTotalPageConcept(TPC)designconsiderations,nolessimportantthanthebroadsheetmainpartofthenewspaper.

Manythingsthathavebeensaidaboutstandardbroadsheetsizepapersforinstance,intermsofthesizeofartandheadlines,andstorycountarenottrueofthetabloid.Thesmallpagesizedemandsarethinkingofdesign.Infact,regardingdesign,itcansometimesbeeasiertodevoteafulltabloidpagetoeachdepartmentsuchasbusinessratherthanworkthesamematerialontohalfabroadsheetpage.

Thereisaconfusionsurroundingnewspapersthatpublishinthetabloidformatmanypeoplemistakenlyclassifyalltabloidsasbeinglikethesensationalpapersavailableatthesupermarketcheckoutstands.

Ithassomethingofthefeelofamagazine,whichiswhymanybroadsheetpaperspublishsomeoftheirfeaturesectionsintabloidformat.

Atabloidissmallerandeasiertohandlethanthelargerformatwhetheronasubwayoratthebreakfasttable,itsimplyconsumeslessspacewithouthavingtobefoldedinhalvesorquarterstoberead.

Thesmallfeelofthetabloidformatcreatesanotherdesignpossibility,afeaturenotseeninthebroadsheet:Astoryorasectionsuchassportsmaybestartedonthebackpageandjumpedinside.Thebackpagethenbecomesthebeginningpageforastory,orasecondcoverpagewithitsownteaserstoattractthereader'sattentiontotheinside.

Tabloidshavetheirantecedentsinthelargeurbandailiescreatedearlyinthiscentury,withtheireyecatchingbigphotosandtheiremphasisonasinglestorytoselltheeditionaformperhapsideallysuitedtopresentthemorethoughtful,magazinestylestoriestoday'sweekliesoftenpublish.

DISADVANTAGES/ADVANTAGES

Thelimitedstorycountonapage,particularlyonthefrontpage,isoneofthedisadvantagesofthetabloidformat.

Buttokeepthenumberofelementsonthepageuparefer[reference]packageisrunacrossthetopofpageone,incorporatinganindex,weatherataglancegraphicandteasersfortwoorthreeinsidestories.

Thewayaroundtabloiddesignproblemsissimplyto"writetight."

Thepurposeofwritingtightistokeepthereaderwiththestory.Toavoidadrablook,onehasgottorunmorethanonestorypertabloidpage,unlessthereisalotofterrificarttogowiththatsinglestory.

Gofortwoor,better,threestoriesperpageplusart,ofcourse.

Thismeanseditorsmustrestrainreporters'naturaltendencytowritetoomuch.

Editorsmustrealizethata20inchstorymayberoutineinabroadsheet,butit'slonginatabloid.

Furthermore,jumpingstoriesisn'ttheanswer,eitherthegraynessitpreventsononepagesimplygetsshovedontoanother.

Thewholestoryshouldbeononepagebecause"readershatejumps."

Thefactthatreadershatejumpshasnowbeenacceptedbyamajorityofbroadsheetnewspaperstoo.

Now,insteadofastoryjump,thestoryisbrokendownintosmallerstoriesandplacedontheinsidepageswithpointersonthefrontpage.

Whiletherearedistinctadvantagestousingatabloidformatsuchasthesinglepage

containmentofstoriesandtheavailabilityoffullpagesforadvertiserssomeheadlinesize

restrictionsareinevitable.

Sizesaslargeas72and60point(where72pointsequaloneinch)typeshouldbeusedsparingly.

Theheadlineshouldserveasacomplementtothetext.

Itmustbelargeenoughtocarryorsupportthestory'slength,butnotsolargethatitisbiggerthanthestoryitheads.

Ontheotherhand,atabloidnewspaperwilloftenprintitslargestheadlineat30or24point.

Whenthepointsizesbeginthissmall,thereisnotmuchfarthertogodown.

Thisdoesnotprovidemuchpagedesignvarietyanddoeslittletofocusreaders'interestontherelativeimportanceofthenewsstories.

Tabloidstoriescanbepackageddifferentlythanonabroadsheetbecausethesmallerpapercanbeheldopeninbothhands,andthetwopagesthenviewedalmostasone.

Thestoryflowfrompagetopagemakesreadingthetabloidaneasyexperience.

Forpublicationswithfewerpagesthanamajormetropolitandailycollegenewspapers,forexampleatabloidhastheadditionalsubliminaladvantageofgivinganimpressionofmorebulk.It'stwiceasthickandhastwiceasmanypagesasabroadsheetsectioncontainingthesameamountofspace.

DESIGNINGTHETABLOID

Apostercoverfrontpageorthis,incombinationwiththebeginningofasinglecoverstory,areeffectivedesignoptionsforthetabloidpageone.

Thepagemightalsohave"boxcars,"orreferencenoteskeyedtothecoverstoryandotherstoriesinside.

Afrontpagelikethiswithlargeheadlines,insidereferencesandlargephotosisseeninseveralnewspapers,althoughcompetitionforthereader'sattentioncansometimesbedistracting.

Ineverycase,thedesignershould"thinkabouttheoppositepage"whenplanningoutatabloidsection.

Becausetabloidpagesaresmallereachtwopagespreadformsatighterunitthanina

broadsheet.Everypagelayoutshouldtaketheappearanceofthefacingpageintoaccount.

Ratherthanstretchbannersacrossfacingpages,thedesigneditormightleadoffonepagewithastrongoneortwocolumnheadlinenexttoastrongphoto.

Ifyouuseahorizontalphotoononepageofaspread,lookforaverticalphotofortheother.

Articlesontheinsideandsectionpagesofatabloidnewspaperalsohavedifferentrequirementsfromtheequivalentsectionsofabroadsheetpaper.

Becausesubjectsintheirentiretyshouldbecontainedonasinglepage,storiesmustbeeditedtofit.

Somepagesmighthavemanyshortitemsrunasnewssummariesfornationalandinternationalnews,sports,entertainmentandothertopicareas.

Tomaketheinsidepageworkfromareadershipstandpointthedesignershouldlearntothinkvertical:Calm,coolhorizontallayoutsarepopularinbroadsheetsthesedays,buttoomanyofthemrobtabloidpagesofenergy.

Also,horizontallayoutsmakeforshortercolumnsoftype,forcingthereader'seyetojumpupanddownmoreoftenthanisideal.Strongverticalelementshelpmaketabloidpageslooklargerandmoreactive.

Photosthroughoutshouldbeprintedlargeenoughforthereadertodiscernthesubjectimmediately.

Photosandheadlinesshouldnotberunhalfsizejustbecauseatabloidpageisonlyhalfthesizeofabroadsheetpage.

Withreferencetophotosinrelationshiptoeachothertheeffectivearrangementishorizontal.

Thisrelationshipalsoknownas"doubletruck"becausefacingpagescanoverlapacrossthemiddlecanbeveryadvantageoustothedesigner,sincenothingislostinthecrackbetweenpages.

Thetabloidformisuniquelysuitedtothesequential,magazinelike"flow.

Abroadsheetpagedemandsvarietyvarietyofheadlines,photosandmostimportant,subjectmatter.

Whilemanytabloidsareverydensethereisanemphasisonthepotentialofthetabloidformattorevealthecombinedstrengthsofbothnewspapersandmagazines.

Atabloidis,afterall,anuneasyhybridofthetwo,andwhethertolooklikeoneortheotherisoneofthefundamentalquestionsthatconfrontseverytabloideditorandart

director.Asaresult,everytabloidtendsto"tilt"inonedirection.Thosethatareguidedbyastrongnewsbiastendtolooklikea"newspaper"thatis,adailynewspaperwhile"softer"weekliesaremuchmoremagazinelikeinappearance.

ContinuityElements

Therehastobeacontinuityfromsectiontosection,pagetopage.

Regardlessofanewspaper'sformat,TotalPageConcept(TPC)continuitybeginswiththeidentifyinglogoonpageone,andflowsfrompagetopagethroughoutthenewspaper.TherelationshipoftheTotalPageConcepttocontinuityincludesaconscientiousefforttoplanthemixofallheadlines,topackageeachstorywithphotosandapurposefularrangementofheadlines,andthentoplanstoriesandphotosthatcomplementoneanother.

Thedesignermustnevertakethereaderforgranted.Throughtheuseofstrongcontinuityelements,anewspapercanbedesignedtomakereadingeasier.

Thisisimportantsincereadingintheageoftelevisionisvoluntaryandthereforethenewsaudiencemustbeseducedintoreadinganewspaperbeginningatthetopofpageonewithaboxedpackageofteasers.

TheTotalPageConceptseesallpartsofthepaperashavingonegoal:asubtlesimplicitythat

willdirectthereaderthroughthepublication

Weliveinatimeofimagescreatedbyadvertising,television,andcorporatelogocreators.Logostodaysolidifyandunifypeople'sreactionstheyarethepositiveimagesthatadvertisersandothergroupsprojecttofosterbelievability.

Whenimagesbecomefragmented,credibilitydecreases.Thegreatertheintegrationofimagesthroughtheeffectiveuseofalogo,thegreatertheacceptanceenjoyedbyitsassociatedgroupanditsideas.

THEFLAG

Aninitialindicationoftheimportanceofcontinuityliesinhowthe"flag,""logotype"or"nameplate"thetypethatdisplaysthenameofthenewspaperisdesignedandplacedonpageone.Inaddition,howthiselementservestocomplementthecolumnsignatureboxes,headlinetypeandinsidepagefoliosisimportant.Theflagshouldidentifythenewspapersowellthatthereadercaneasilydistinguishonepublicationfromanother.

Usuallytheflagisplacedinthetopthirdofthepage

Mostoftentheflagisfoundbeneathteasers,althoughothercontentisoccasionallyfoundabovetheflag.

Whilemanynewspapershavemovedtheirflagsaroundthepage,amajorityhave

retainedthetraditionaltexttypeface.

REFERENCEPACKAGES

Complementarytotheflagaretheinsidereferenceelements,usuallyacrossthetopofpageone.Thesearesometimescalled"toppers,""boxcars,""referencenotes"or"skylinepromoboxes."

Theybalancethehardnewsofpageoneandteasereaderstothebestinsidepagenewsandsofterfeaturestories,oftenusingartproducedbythelocalstaff.

Thenewspapershoulddoallitcantoguidethereaderintothepaperwithasmuchclarityaspossible.Readers'imagesofnewspapersareusuallywrongwithreferencetowhat'sinthem.

Example:angryreaderscallinguptocomplainthatacertainstorywasn'tinthepaperwhenitreallywasthere.So,accurateandeffectivepromotionisnecessarytoletpeopleknowwhat'sinthepaperandwheretheycanfindit.

Referencenotesshouldbearrangedaccordingtotheorderofthepagesorsectionsforinstance,A3andthenA5.Severalarrangementscanbeused:twoandthreecolumnboxcombinations,say,withorwithoutillustrations,lineshots,cutouthalftones,mugphotos,reversetypeandspotcolor.

Alsopossiblearehorizontalbarlistingseithersetbythemselvesorbalancedagainstacalendarlisting,dailynewsbriefs,theindex,alatebreakingstory,apromotionalfeature,thesportsscoreboard,stocktablesorthelocalweatherbox.

Thepublication'sissuedateshouldbeprominentlydisplayedonpageone.Itsvolumeandnumberifnotonpageonemaybeplacedonpagetwoorthreewiththemastheadlistingofpostalandsubscriptioninformationandthepaper'smailingaddressesallintypelargeenoughtobeeasilyread.

SECTIONTOPPERS

Whenusingsectionflags,pageheaders,labels,logosandtoppersasreaderaids,thetwomostimportantconsiderationsarethetypeselectionandtheplacementonthepage.Thesemustbeconsistentthroughoutthenewspapersothereaderwillsensewhichpaperheorsheisreadingwhetheritbethereligionpageorthesportssection.

Thewholepapershouldcomeacrossasafamilyunitwithmanymembers,allofitscontentshavingbeenproducedbythesamestaffwiththesameTPCdesignphilosophy.

Whilesection/pagedesignationsmaybeusedforbusiness,food,fashion,leisure,real

estateandamyriadofotherpossibilities,theycanalsobecomelimitingwhennewsmustbeleftoutorcontinuedontoanotherpagebecauseitwillnotfitonthedesignatedpage.Also,regularsectionpagescreatetheexpectationthattheywillalwaysbetheresometimes,however,theremaybenotenoughspecificmaterialtopublishawholetopicpage.

Ifthe"folio"thepagenumber,newspapernameandissuedateisnotincludedinthesection/pagedesignation,itshouldbeplacedwhereitmaybeeasilyseen:topleftonevennumberedpagesandtoprightonoddnumberedpages.Eventhesizeofthenumbersthemselvesareanimportantconsideration.

SIGNATURE-COLUMNHEADLINES

Aspartofthepackagingprocess,mostbylinecolumnshavea"signature"headlinethatrunseverytimethecolumnisprinted,plusastoryheadlinetodescribethethemeoratleastthetopitemwhenthecolumncoversseveralsubjects.Newspapersgivethesesignatureheadlinesdifferentnames:"bugs,""columntitles,""logos,""sigs"or"standingsigs."

Thesamecolumnheadlinetypestyleshouldbeusedthroughoutthepapersometimesselectedfromthesametypefamilyasthenewspaper'sflag.Alsoforthesakeofconsistency,columnheadlineformatsshouldbesimilarthroughout.

However,treatmentmightbesomewhatdifferentfortheregularfeatures

Throughthecreativearrangementoftheseelements,thereaderseesanorganizedpresentationofthenewsfrompagetopage.Furthermore,thecredibilityoftextandartisenhancedbythesubtlemessageprovidedbycontinuityelements.Theyprovidethefeel,thelookandindeedtheshellinwhichthenewsispresented.

Skillfullydisplayed,thecontinuityelementskeepthereaderwiththepaperlonger.

Thoughtlesslycreatedandimproperlylaidonthepage,continuityelementsdoverylittle

fortheimmediatepageandevenlessforthetotalnewspaper.

AddingHeadlines

Theheadlineisanintegralelementofthenewspaperpage.Itdirectsthereadertothesignificantaspectofastory.

Theheadlineisnotjustalabelonastory,anidentifieroranindex.Headlinesaresoimportantthatevenapicturestorypageisnotcompletewithoutatleastone.Designedtocomplementeachotherinsizeandstyling,headlinesgivedefinitiontothelandscapeofthenewspaperpage.

Theheadlineisthevitallinkbetweenaprospectivereaderandthenewsstory.Therefore,headlinesshouldaccuratelyconveythestory'sessencethewho,whatandwhywhileatthesametimefittingintothecolumnorcolumnsofspaceavailable.

Whileadvertisementsandstoryartarethefirstelementsthatgrabattention,thereader

alsoreactstoheadlinetypographybeforereadingthestory.DesignvariablesincludeheadlinetypefamiliesfromAvantGardetoZapf,andpointsizesusuallyincluding12,14,18,24,36,48,60,72and84point.

Sincethesizeofheadlinesmakesthemappearsoimportantinapublication,thereader

expectsthemtobeinatypesizethatgradesthestory'simportance.

HEADLINEWRITINGANDPLACEMENT

Theheadlinemustdescribethestoryaccurately;otherwise,theeffortofthewriterislostonthereader.Itisparticularlyimportantthat,whiledevelopingaheadlinethatwillfit,editorsbecarefulnottowritea"cute"headlinethatthenneedstobequalifiedwithsubheads.

WHATAHEADLINEDOES:HOWANDWHY

Aheadline:

providesaplacefortheeyetoland.Ifalltypewere10pointtext,thenewsofthepagewouldbelostamidcolumnaftercolumnofgray.

callsattentiontowhystoriesarebeingpublisheditsellsthestory.

makesastatement,withasubjectandaverb,totellreaderswhatthestoryisabout.

mustbewrittenfromtheleadparagraphofanewsstory,andfromapointbeyondtheleadinafeaturestory.

hasintegrityaccuracyinaheadisnolessimportantthaninastory.

readslikeasentenceindownstylelowercaseletters,withuppercase(capitalsorcaps)usedonlyatthebeginningoftheheadlineandforpropernouns.Somepapersuseanupstylelowercase,withcapsforthefirstletterofeachwordexceptarticlesandallorsomeprepositions.

Becausereadingnewspapersisavoluntaryexperience,anythingthatmakesthereadingdifficultshouldbeavoided.Toquicklytestthelookoftheheadlines,thedesignercanholdthecompletedpageupsidedownoratacrossangleupsidedownsothatthetopofthepagebecomesthebottom,andthenviewitfromafewfeetaway.Thiscausestheeyetofocusonanyunattractivewhiteorashengrayplaces,iftheyexist.Ifthepageisattractivelydesigned,itwillbestrongwhetherrightsideuporupsidedown.

HEADLINEPLACEMENTANDRELATIVESIZE

Headlinewritersfollowcertainwidespread,consistentdesignprinciplesthathavebeenproventoworkwellforbroadsheetformatpapers.

AdditionaldecisionsthattheyshouldmakewhendesigningaTPCnewspaperinclude:

Whetherheadlinesshouldbeflushleft,centeredorflushright,andeitherupstyleordownstyle

howtoavoidhavingtoomanyhorizontalandsometimestoomanysinglelineheadlinesonthesamepageand

justhowmuchkerning(thespacebetweenletters)willhelporhinderlegibility.Otherconsiderationsforthepageeditorinclude:

howtodesignapagewithoutburyingheadlines

decidingwhetheraheadlineistoolarge,toosmall,oragoodsizetofitthestoryand

whetherahood(aborderoveroralongsidetheheadline)wouldhelporhinderlegibility.

NEWSGRADINGANDEVENTCHRONICLING

Thetaskofgradingthenewsalwaysbringsuprelatedconcernsastheeditoranddesignerarefacedwithhowtochronicleaccuratelytheday'sorweek'sevents.Whileheadlinesshouldcallattentiontowhystoriesarebeingpublishedandwhytheyareworthyofbeingread,theprimarypurposeofthenewspaperthenewsitselfwillnotbeenhancedbyimportantlookingheadlines,butonlybystoriesthatarewellwrittenandtightlyedited.

SERIF/SANSSERIFHEADS

Manyoftheearlynewspapershadonlyonetypeface,usuallyonewithserifs(finelinesprojectingfromthestrokesoftheletters)andtheentirenewspaperstories,headlinesandadvertisingwassetinthatface.WithBodoniandotherseriffonts,thetypeitselfwascleanandeasytoreadbecauseoftheflowcreatedbytheextraflourishesoftheserifs.Atsomenewspaperstoday,theheadlinetypefaceissansserif(lackingthefineseriflines)sothattheheadsareclearlydistinguishablefromthestorytype.

Typefaceselectionsometimescomesdowntoaquestionofattractivenessvs.readability.Whateverthereasonapublicationdecidestouseatypefont,itisbesttoselectastylethatislegibleoverastylethatisattractiveorbeautifulbuthardertoread.

CONSISTENCYOFFONTS

Sincereadersliketoseethenewspaperasa"family"orcollectionofmaterialallcomingfromthesamelocation,headlineconsistencycangoalongwaytowardcreatingthisimageofcohesiveness.

Therefore,thesameheadlinefontprintingtypeofaparticularfaceandsizeorcomplementaryfontsfromthenewspaper'sestablishedheadlinescheduleshouldbeusedforallheadlines.

Inadditiontotheconsistencyfactor,thereisatleastoneotherpointtoconsider:Headlinesshouldbebothenergeticallyboldandofcontrastingmediumtolighttypefacesifthereistobeanytypographicaldepthtothepage.

Whilethereadermaynotimmediatelyrecognizehowaheadlinecharacterizesastoryasbeingstraightnewsoranewsorlighterfeature,thesizeoftheheadlineistakenasacluetotheimportanceofastory,atleastofanewsstory.Usuallyheadlinesthatare24pointsorlargershouldbeusedonallstoriesexceptnewsbriefstoprovidelegibility.

CAPSANDLOWERCASE

Theterm"case"originatedwhenprintersusedtotakeindividuallettersoutofacaseorfontboxandplacetheminastockorgalleytomakeaheadline,composeastoryandthenassembleanentirepublication.

Somenewspapersuseallcapitallettersforkickerssmallersizeheadlinessetoverthemainheadlineorovershort,onecolumnboxedstoriesorforthewriter'snameinastandingcolumnhead.Usedsparinglyforaspecificreasonwithfiveorsixwordsthatarenotmorethanahalfdozenletterseach,capalthoughnoteasytoreadquicklyprovidecontrasttoafullpageofotherwise"C&lc"(capitalandlowercase)heads.

Inanycasewhetherwrittenwithallcapsorcapsandlowercasekicker,drop(smallersizesetunderthemainheadline)andhammer(orreversekicker)headlinesmusthaveauniformrelationship(halfplusonepointsizegreater,say)tothemainheadlinecombination.Forinstance,ifthemainheadlineis36pointsphotoseton37points(allowinghalfapointofspaceforadescendingletterofthealphabetadescenderandhalfapointofspaceforanascendingletteranascender),itwouldbebestforthekickerheadlineordropheadlinetobeatleast24points,setinitalictocontrastwiththeromanofthemainheadline.

Therelationshipofsizesshouldbeestablishedinthenewspaper'sguidelines.Thesizecombinationsforthehammerheadlineactuallylargerthanthemainheadlinewouldhavethehammer36pointsandthemainheadline24points(again,basedoneditor/designerpreference),inmediumfacetype.

Dropheadscontainadditionalinformationforthereaderinwhatwouldotherwisebe

wastedwhitespace.Theyarebettertousethankickersorhammerheadsbecausedropheadsaredirectlyunderthemainhead.Carelessplacementofakickerorhammerheadaboveorbesidethemainheadcanbenonpurposefulandawasteofspace,apreciouscommodity.Ifusedatall,kickersandhammersshouldbeonthetopofapage,wheretheywon'ttrapwhitespace.Anyplacementworksonlyiftheeyeisn'tinitiallyattractedtowhitespace.

Thepicaindentationforthemainheadlinecanbemeasuredineitherpicasorems.(Therearesixpicasinoneinch.An"em"isthesquareofthetypesizeforinstance,"18em"meansthatthetypeis18pointshighand18pointswide.Emisoneofthespacekeysonsometypesetterkeyboards.)Themainheadlineunderakickerorhammerheadlineshouldbeindentedthesamenumberofpicaseachtimethecombinationisused,thuscreatingaconsistentstyle.

MULTICOLUMNANDMULTILINEHEADS

Theuseofmorethanonelineofheadtypehorizontalstackingoftypebecomesaconveniencefortheheadlinewriterandalsoprovidesrelief(airorwhitespace)onthepage.Adesignercantellwhetherwhitespaceis"trapped"orwhetherit"givesrelief"bydeterminingifthewhitespaceisconspicuousbyitspresenceitshouldnotbe.Justasmulticolumnheadlinescreatehorizontalvariation,multilineheadlinesprovideverticalrelief.

Imaginehowvisuallyboringitwouldbeifallheadlineswereonlyonecolumnwideononeline.Thereaderwouldfinditmentallyimpossibletogradethenewsvalueofstories,andthepagewouldbelikeamassive"tombstoning"ofsidebysideheadlines.However,inthewritingofmultilineheadlines,itisimportantthateachlinebeabletostandalonewheneverpossible.

REVERSESANDSURPRINTS

Occasionallyapagedesignwillcallforareverseheadlineorforasurprint.Thereverseheadlineisonethatappearsaswhitetypeagainstablackbackground.Asurprintheadisonethatappearsblackongray,suchasontopofaskyphoto.Bothcanbeeffectiveifusedcorrectlyandnotoverused.WHITESPACE

Whitespaceiscreatedbytheamountofspaceplacedbetweenheadlinedecksandbetweentheheadlineandthestory.Bothprovideexcellentbreathingspace.Butthewhitespacemustbeconsistentandmustfollowthenewspaper'sdesignstylebook(forinstance,nomorethan1pointbetweendescendersandascendersinmultideckheads,andnomorethan2picasabovetheascenderorbelowthedescenderofthehead).

Whitespaceinheadlinescanalsobemadebytheamountofspaceleftbetweenthe

mainheadlineandthekickerorhammerabove,orbetweenthemainheadlineandthedropheadornutgraphbelowandbetweenthemandthebylineorstory.The"nutgraph"isusedtosummarizethestorycompletelyinasinglesentence.

Likeallotheraspectsofwhitespace,theairbetweentheheadlinesandstoriesmustbeconsistentifthereaderistofeelanorderlinessinthedesignofthenewspaper.

TextMatterElements

Newspapersarechangingtypographyeveryday...ascomputerizationandcoldtype

allowusmoreandmorefreedomandcontrol.

While headline typography and other display elements usually jump out at the reader first, information in the stories is the underlying reason for purchasing a daily or weekly newspaper. Therefore, to bring the predictably gray sea of text type columns ofstoriestolife,thedesignermustarrangethetypeartisticallyandfunctionally

Texttype considerations include height, letter fullness, justification of columns, column

widthandotherwaystomakereadingthestoriesmoreinviting.

Readingisbeforeanythingelseanopticalexperience;readabilitydependsonasubtleblendofformandfunctioninthetypeface.Theeditor'sselectionoftypefacestyleimpartsasenseofthewords'meaningtothereader.Ifthestyleisserifandifthehairlinesthatarepartoftheletters'strokesdonotdetractfromtheformofthelettersthemselves,thiscancontributegreatlytothespeedwithwhichthewriter'sthoughtsarerelayed.Butifthelettershaveconflictingornotenoughornamentation,thereaderwillhavetodealnotonlywiththemessageofthetext,butwiththetypefaceaswell.

Guidelinesinregardtotextlinespacing

Linespacingismeasuredinpoints.Whenthelinespaceequalsthepointsize,thetypeisconsideredtobe"setsolid."

Asageneralrule,linespaceshouldbethepointsizeplus20percentofthepointsize,i.e.,10pointtypeshouldhave12points(10plus2)oflinespace.

Thecurrenttrend,however,istowardadding10percentofthepointsizeforbodycopy,i.e.,10pointtypewith11pointsoflinespace.

Therearemanyotherthingstoconsiderinthetreatmentofbodycopy.Areadablesizetypefacesetinunjustifiedor"raggedright"columnscanbeveryattractivetoreadersbecauseoftheconsistentletterandwordspacing.Furthermore,basedonreadability,thenewspapercanstyleitsendoflinewordbreakseitherwithorwithouthyphens.Althoughtherehasnotbeenarushtotheuseofraggedright,

severalnewspapershavechosenitforthetextoftheirentirepublication.

Studieshaveshownragrightandjustifiedtypetobeequallyreadable.

Infact,inmostcases,readersarenotevenawarethattheyarereadingoneortheother.Asarule,readabilityonlysufferswhentypestylesarenothandledwithpropercare,allowingproblemstooccurinletterorwordspacing.Sometimesragrightcopycancreateunattractivecontoursalongtherightmarginthiscondition,whilenotparticularlyinvitingtothereader,doesnotdetractfromreadability.

Anotherargumentforraggedrighthavingnothingtodowithreadabilityisthatcopychangesatdeadlineareeasiertomakeonalineforlinebasis,andthiscanhaveaconvincingeffectwhenlatebreakingnewsdetailsarrive.

Inadditiontoraggedright,anotherinfrequentlyusedformoftypesettinginnewspapersisblockparagraphingnoindentationfornewparagraphs.Newspapersthatusethisvariationseparateparagraphswithonelineofwhitespace.

Don'tusetoomanydifferentwidthsononepage.Theytirereaders'eyesandcompetewitheachother.Highlightonestorywithadifferentmeasureandsettherestuniformly.Runnewsstoriesinstandardmeasureforefficient,fastreading.Setfeaturetypestoriesinwidermeasuretoindicateasortofslowingdownandeasingup.

SUBHEADSANDOTHERGRAPHICBREAKERS

Setaboveeveryfifthorsixthparagraph,subheadscanbeeitherflushleftorcenteredandeitherallcapsorcapsandlowercase,withoneblanklineaboveandonebelowthesubhead.Subheadsmaybethesamesizeoronepointlargerthanthetexttypesizeifsetanylargerthanonesizeabovethetextcopy,theymightbeconfusedwithregularheadlines.

Anotherwaytointroducevarietyintootherwisegraycolumnsistosetthefirsttwoorthreewordsofeveryfifthorsixthparagraphinboldfacetype.Thesewordswillservethesamepurposeassubheadswithoutmakingitnecessarytowriteadditionallinesoftypetheymaybedoneinallcapsorcapsandlowercase.

Whitespacebreathersmightbemadetocontainameaningfulphrasetheythenorganizethestoryintothoughtunitsandbecomevaluablenotonlytoenhancethelookofthenewspaperbutalsotoprovideguidanceforthereader.

Theuseof"breakers"alsoknownas"breakoutquotes,""quotebreakers,""quoteboxes,""quoteouts,""readouts,""pullouts,""blurbs"or"sandwiches"canbeintroducedintolongerpiecesofcopybyextractingquotesorstatementsfromthestories,settingthemin14or18pointtypeandstrategicallyplacingthemwithinthecolumnsoftexttype.Ideally,theseshouldprecedethequotedmaterialinthestorysotheywillnothavealreadybeenreadwhenthereadergetstothem.Breakersmaybeusedtoaccompanyaheadshotphoto.

Inadditiontothevariousconsiderationsformakingtexttypeoptimallyreadable,

thereareafewaccessorymethodsofstoryidentificationandreaderdirectionthataredonewithtypography.Bylines,creditlines,cutlines,continuedorjumplines,andtabulardisplayofinformationareallwaysbywhichstoriescanbeexpandedorgivenmoreclarity.

Creditlinestylesareestablishedatnewspapersforphotographers'andartists'names,withthelineoftenbeingapointsizeortwosmallerthantexttype,sometimessetinaboldoritalicsansseriftypefaceandplacedjustunderonesideusuallytherighthandsideoftheart.Allbylinesandcreditlinesshouldbesetinlegibletype,shouldnotbeburiedinthestoryorphoto,andshouldnotbeconfusingtothereaderwhowishestoknowtowhomcreditisdue.

Cutlinessonamedwhencaptionsweresetinmetaltypeandusedwithartworkengravedonzincareusedtodescribeoridentifythepeopleorsubjectsinaphotoorillustration.Theyshouldbesetwideenoughtocoverthewidthofthephotoorotherformofart,butnowiderpreferablyaccordingtouniformcolumnwidths.Anexceptiontothisruleoccurswhenthecaptionispositionedadjacenttotheart.

Foranewspage,cutlinesorcaptionsshouldalwaysbesetinaccordancewithestablishedcolumnwidths.Foraphotoordisplaylayout,thewidthmayvary,butinanycasethepicawidthshouldbenomorethantwicethepointsize.Breathingroomforthecaptioncanbeprovidedbysettingitapicalessthantheaccompanyingphotoorotherart.This,too,isagooduseoftheTotalPageConceptsolongastheruleofconsistencyprevailsandthewidthisthesameforeverycaption.

Newspapereditorsknowthatusingcontinuedorjumplinesforstoriesdiscouragesreadersfromfindingorlookingfortheremainderofthestory.However,thosenewspapersthatdojumpstorieshavetofollowastylewhendoingso.

Thefactthatastoryhasbeencontinued,andwhere,shouldbeobvioustothereader.Jumpsneedtobeproofreadcarefullytomakecertainthattheyfollowfromtheoriginatingpagetothejumppage.Akeywordandthepagenumberareespeciallyimportantifmorethanonestoryhasbeenjumped.The"continuedfrom"referencemusthaveaheadlinethatmatchesthekeywordandthenbelowthatintexttype,usuallyboldfacealinethatindicatestheoriginatingpageofthestory.

Somenewspaperstrytojumpstoriesonlyinthemiddleofaparagraph,andothersmakethejumpwhereverithappenstofall.Usuallyatleastonelineofwhitespaceisplacedbetweenthestorylineandthejumplinereference.Storieslessthan5inchesinlengthshouldnotbejumpedrather,theyshouldbeeditedtightlytofitthespace.

CreativeDesign

Wearelivinginanageofemergingcommunicationstechnologiesthatwillprofoundlyalterthewayhumanbeingsprocessinformation.

Peoplearelearningtoprocessinformationbasedprimarilyonvisualimagesfarmore

readily.Graphicpresentationsofinformationwillprovetobeasusefulandacceptedameansofcommunicatingastext.

Howtodoit

LINKINGSTORIESANDART

PAGEORGANIZATION

"How"Graphics:Howithappened,howitworks,howitshouldhaveworked,howtodoit.

Writetheheadlinefirst.Ithelpstoclarifyyourthinkingandallowsyoutofocusthegraphic.Ifyoucan'twriteacrisp,clearhead,youcan'tdothegraphic.

Makeanewsjudgment.What'sthestoryworth?Bythatjudgmentwe'llknowwhatthegraphicisworth.Isitatwocolumnbyfiveinchgraphicorafivecolumnbynineinchgraphic?Thesizeofthegraphicshouldbeproportionatetotheamountofinformationinit.

Makesureyouhaveallthenumbers.Notjustforgraphics,butforyourself...

Remember:interestingisn'tenough.Theencyclopediaisinteresting,butnobodyisgoingtoprintit.

MakesuretheGraphicsDepartment[people]getalltheresourcematerialtheyneed.Theyshouldhaveaccesstothereporter,notes,photos,sketches,theeditorialVDTs[VisualDisplayTerminals],etc.

Gettheinformationtothegraphicsdepartmentearly.Don'twaituntilthestoryiswritten.Ifyouhaveagraphicidea,shareit.Don'tkeepitasecret.Letthegraphicseditororartdirectorknowaboutit.

Don'tjudgeagraphicafteritisdone.Itistoolate.It'seasytorewritealeadondeadline.Itmaytaketwohourstoredothegraphic.Makesurethatthegraphiciseditedtothesamestandardsyouapplytoallothercopy.

Threepurposesofdesign

contentenhancement

makingthenewspaperasawholemoreinvitingandmorerichlytextured,andusingallpossibletoolstogivethereadermoreinformationandserviceand

leveloftypographic,graphicandartisticsophistication.

UNDERSTANDINGTHEGRAPHICPOTENTIALOFAPHOTO

FacesareattheheartoftheTotalPageConcept:Theymirroreventstheytelltowhomtheeventsarehappeningtheytakeamessagetothereaderand,packagedwithstories,theyprovideawholepictureofthenewsoftheday.

Mostphotoassignmentsareroutine,butthephotographerwhoapproachesallassignmentsasthoughtheyaregoingtoberoutinewilltakeonlyroutineandboringphotosallthetime.Thefactthatmanyphotoassignmentsarenotexcitingprovidesthebiggestchallengetoeditorsontheassignmentdeskandtothephotographersthemselves.

Whilegenericphotosabeautifulsunsetorafreshsnowfall,perhapsmayhaveallthequalityintheworld,thesearenotexamplesofnewsphotosandshouldneverbesubstitutedfornewsphotos,althoughsometimestheyareappropriateillustrationsforafeaturestoryortodocumentanunusualweatherconditionlikethefirsttimeithassnowedinanareainmany,manyyears.

Manytimesaphotographermaybetemptedtotakethatsunsetorsomeotherphotoclichd,suchasa"fortherecord"checkpassingbetweendonorandworthyrecipient,a"lineup"oftorsos,aspeakershotoradriver'slicensestylemug.Equallyunattractivearephotoswithpoorcompositionorpoorlighting.PHOTOEDITINGTECHNIQUES

Thephotographercanbegintheeditingprocess"bytakingmorethanasnapshotofhissubjectsometimesthismeansnothingmorethangettingadifferentangleofthesubjectinsteadofstraightonmoveuponyoursubject.

Thephotographercouldusealadder,chairorcarfendertobecometallerandshootdown

onthesubject,orkneelorlaydownandshootupsotheskyprovides"asimple

backgroundfreeoftelephonewires,buildingsandthelike.

Thephotoeditororpagedesignermustbeskilledinsizing,cropping,doingmarkupfortheprinter,proportioningandkeyingphotosforlayouts.Theseskillsaredefinedasfollows:

SizingPhotosizeshouldcomplementthestoryinsuchawaythatreadersdonotwonderwhethertheyarelookingataphotowithastoryorastorywithaphoto.

CroppingShortofgoingtoextremes,photosshouldbecroppedtightly.Thismeansthatthepageeditorshouldcutoutextraneouspartsofthephoto,includingunnecessarybackgroundandforegroundareasandunessentialpartsofthebodybeingcarefulnotto"saw"bodypartsexceptattheshouldersandwaist.

ProportioningSomephotosworkbetterashorizontalsothersarebetterasverticals.Usinga"proportionalwheel,"thegaugeforreductionshouldbesettoincludethebestpartofaphotoforthedesiredcolumnwidth.Measuringtoenlargeapieceofartis

donebylininguptheoriginalsizeontheinnerscaleoftheproportionalwheeladjacenttothedesiredsizeontheouterscale.Thepercentageofreductionorenlargementwillappearinawindowopeningonthewheel.

KeyingPhotoswithLayoutsPhotosandpagesmustbemarkedsothattheindividualresponsibleforplacingthephotosonthepageswillbeabletoplacethemquicklyandaccurately.

ENHANCINGTHEPHOTO

Photosmusthaveintegrity.Forhardnewsstories,cuttingawaypartsofthephotowillweakenitscredibilityaswellasthecredibilityofthenewsitself.Photographersseldomtakephotosforhardnewswiththethoughtthattheywillbeenhancedbyeditingwithabrushorknife.

Forsoftnewssubjectsonaninsidepage,itissometimeseffectivetocutawaytheoriginalbackground,creatingaphotosilhouetteagainstwhiteoragrayscreen.Specialconsiderationshouldbetakennottocutawayarmsorlegs,therebycreatingacontrivedappearance.Areaswheretherearedarksagainstdarksorlightsagainstlights,orcurlyorwavyhair,mustbeexaminedclosely.

Thepersoninthephotocouldbecausedmuchembarrassmentifincorrectlygivenacrewcuthairstyleorifpartofashirtorblouseiscutawayorincorrectlyincluded,makingthepersonlooklargerorsmallerthanheorshereallyis.Theimportanceoflearningandcarefullyexecutingthesephotoenhancementtechniquesshouldnotbetakenforgranted.

AirbrushEditingDelicatelytouchingupwithaspecialairhoseandsprayanartistcanapplybrushstrokesofpainttocropoutunwantedpartsofthephoto.

SilhouetteEditingCreatinga"photodropout"or"popup"alsorequiresgreatcaresoasnottomutilatethephotoaknifebladeisappliedtoseparatetheusefulpartofthepicturefromthatwhichistobethrownaway.

PrintingCompensationInsomecases,photosmayneedtobeprintedlighterordarkertocompensateforanewspaperplantpublicationprocessthatmuddiesthepicturesorrendersinflattoneswhatwouldotherwisebecrispprints.Otherphotosmayneedspecialattentionbecausetheyshowlightbuildinginteriorsoradarkgraysky."Burningin"or"dodgingout"certainareasduringprintingmayalsobeusedtocompensateforimperfectionsinsomephotos.

UseofBorderTapeOnetechniquethatwillenhanceorpointspecialattentiontophotosiscalled"keylining,""scoringlining"or"toollining"enclosingtheminsidehalfto1pointblackbordertape.Thismaybedonebyapplyingtapedirectlytothephoto,beingcarefulthatthetapedoesnotoverlaporunderlapthephotoedgeandthattheknifebladedoesnotcutthephotoitmayalsobedonewithamechanicalapplicationtothephotointhehalftoneproductionprocessoronacomputerscreen.

Aphotostoryisjustlikeawrittenstorythereaderexpectstoknowwhereto"read"

next.Theeditor'sarrangementcanguidetheflowofphotosinthemind'seyeofthereader.

Haveadominantphoto.Itneednotbethefirstorlastphotointhearrangement,butthephotostorywillhavemoreimpactifthedominantphotoisthebestoneintermsofelicitinghumanemotion.

Foraphotostory,letthephotoscarrythestory.Trytokeepthetexttoaminimum,ifpossible.Youmaywanttodothelayoutfirst,thenwritethetexttofit.

Alwaysdothewritingforapicturepagewiththephotosinhand."

Donottrapwhitespace.Donotsurroundablankareawithphotographsonallsides.Usewhitespaceeffectively.Workyourlayoutwithphotosinthecenter,movingoutward.Becarefulalsonottoletthewhitespaceencircleyourpackageofphotosandcopylikeafence.

Makesureallcaptionsorcutlinestouchsomeportionofthecorrespondingphotograph.Donotuseonecaptiontotellallandthen,compoundingtheproblem,placeitatthebottomofthepage.Awellplacedcutlineunderneathortothesideofthephotographiswhatcounts.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Illustrationsareanimportantelementusedbynewseditorialstaffsaspageart.Ascomplementstohardnewscoverage,illustrationsusuallyprovidelesscredibilitybutmoredramathanphotos.Whethertheeditorsendsanartisttothenewsassignmentlocationtodoasketchortheassignmentisfromanideaoranalreadywrittenstory,veryspecificinstructionsshouldbegiventotheartistfordrawingaccordingtotheeditor'sneeds.

ToenhancetheTotalPageConcept,illustrationsshouldbe:

appropriatelysizedandcarefullycolored

attractiveandstrong,notcrudeorinexplicable

cleanorsimpleanduncluttered

imaginativelydrawn,notstale

informativeandcomplementarytothestory

largeanddetailedenoughtoprovideamorecompleteunderstandingofthestoryand

usedeffectivelytoexplainthefocusofthestory.

INFORMATIONALGRAPHICS

Informationalgraphicswhichcanbecharts,maps,graphs,illustrations,andphotosareusedinTPCpagedesigntoexplainthestorythroughavisualimage.

Infographicsaremosteffectivelyusedatpaperswherethenewsreportersarecontinuallyanticipating,preparingandcollectingwhennotinacrisissituationinformationthatwillbeessentialbutunavailablewhentheyareworkingagainstadeadline.

Informationalgraphicsshouldneverbeusedonlyasanalternativetoaphotoorillustration,orassomethingthrownintobreakupanotherwisegraypage.Effectiveinformationalgraphics(alsocalled"factgraphics"or"infographs")requirethesamedegreeofaccuracyasthestoriesthattheyaccompany.

Theinfographshouldtrulyreflectthenews,anditscontentshouldbeavailableforquickretrievaljustmomentsafteranewsstorybreaks.Forthistooccur,anartstafforperhaps"infographers"mustkeepaconstantlyupdatedandcatalogedlibraryofsourcematerialsthatshouldincludeadvertisinglogos,brochures,buildingdiagrams,charts,clipart,copyrightfreeandoriginalgraphics,floorplans,maps,pagelayoutsfromothernewspapers,pamphlets,photos,postcards,referencebooksandstatisticaldata.

Allreportersshouldbeencouragedtogatherallpossibleinformationrelatedtotheirstories,especiallyvisualinformation.Ifnotusedwiththatparticularstory,itcanbefiledforlateruse.

Whateverygraphicneeds:

aheadlinetotellwhattheillustrationisallabout

asubheadforadditionalinformation,ifnecessary

ascalelinetotellwhattheinformationisintermsofmeasure

consistentXandYaxeswhendesigningagraph,theXaxisismorenearlyhorizontalandtheYaxisismorenearlyverticaland

somesourcewheretheinformationcamefrom.

Howtoimprovegraphics

Keeptheideasimplethedrawingcanbecomplexbutnottheidea.

Usehumanelements/scale/comparisonswheneverpossible.

Typographyshouldbecleanandsimple:nomorethantwotypefonts.Useboldand

lightfaceswithinatypefonttoprovideemphasis,contrastandscale.

Getanagreementonsizefirst,andkeepthingsinproperscaletothefinishedsize:Youcannotenlargeandreducegraphicslikephotos.

Developresourcefiles:Thekindsofimagematerialsyouneedinordertodoinformationalgraphicsaredifferentfromwhatregularlibrarieshave.

Adddepthtosimplechartsandmapsforgreaterinterest,butnottothepointwheretheartgetsinthewayofthedata.

Understandcolortheory.Useittoconveyinformation,n