elements of newspaper design.pdf
TRANSCRIPT
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ElementsofNewspaperDesignSanjayRanade,HoDDCJ,UOM
20092010
S.K.SOMAIYACOLLEGEOFARTS,SCIENCEANDCOMMERCETYBMM(JOURNALISM)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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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)
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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,
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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"
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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.
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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.
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Typographyshouldbecleanandsimple:nomorethantwotypefonts.Useboldand
lightfaceswithinatypefonttoprovideemphasis,contrastandscale.
Getanagreementonsizefirst,andkeepthingsinproperscaletothefinishedsize:Youcannotenlargeandreducegraphicslikephotos.
Developresourcefiles:Thekindsofimagematerialsyouneedinordertodoinformationalgraphicsaredifferentfromwhatregularlibrarieshave.
Adddepthtosimplechartsandmapsforgreaterinterest,butnottothepointwheretheartgetsinthewayofthedata.
Understandcolortheory.Useittoconveyinformation,n