Design thread .... v.2

I don't know, it seems to be a directional photo. Do you have the flexibility to run the rail on either side of the page?

 

Sometimes, you can't help bumping heads or running photos facing off the page, but when I have the option, I try to avoid both.

Unless your shop will not bend on this, it's definitely a case-by-case thing.

 

Two things not mentioned:

1.) Your mug shot at the bottom probably could have been bumped up a line to allow for four lines of copy above and below the mug. I'm completely anal about things like that, so you could probably disregard it as me being annoying.

2.) I'm not wild about the Wizards being shortened to Wiz.

 

I've been designing for a few years now (I do both ... gotta love it). This isn't near one of my favorite pages, but a lot of my old pages disappeared after we got new computers.

Our paper is big on squeezing front-page stories. I relish the days when I can run just 3-4 stories on the front, but that's not often. I really wanted more feedback on the CP on our All-Area Basketball Team.

Please ignore the ugly headline fonts, the nasty looking refers at the top-right and the other stuff that makes this page way too cluttered. I'll see if I can find more pages that I like better. Thanks for the feedback in advance.

 

1.) Yeah, the headline fonts, that sucks for your paper.

2.) Not sure if this is another style thing, but you guys sure like color. Color heads, color teasers, color backgrounds on your rail. Color everywhere. I guess that's probably a paper-wise thing.

3.) Not sure your paper's policy, but top cutline, at most papers, should have been pushed to the bottom instead of centered next to the photo.

4.) I wouldn't have run that Kenseth story, because it really added no value to the page. It's a guy holding a trophy. I would have just mugged him and left more of the story out front.

5.) In your CP, I would have made the story two columns instead of one. That was way too wide. I also would have left more air on the outsides of the CP, maybe given it an extra pica to breathe.

6.) Lots of baseball players high-fiving. I would have found an action photo of sort to break up the monotony.

 

you run side cuts from bottom to top? we, or i've always started my cuts that run on the side to go down... seems like it looks better...

 

Just to go back through what you said:

1. Believe me, I know. The worst part is that's a Sunday-only font. It's a weird thing with this paper ... Six days a week is Times headlines and Sunday is a completely different look. It's the old look of their afternoon paper that went bye-bye more than a decade ago and they kept the similar look for Sunday's.

2. The large amount of color isn't normal. It's weird how it ended up that way.

3. That's not a "policy," but I've noticed more and more that it is at most papers. I'll remember that.

4. This has to deal with that "too many stories on PI" thing. I hated running five stories because of the CP, which did not allow me much room to breathe around it ... and five stories on the front is never good.

5. I went back and looked at that ... looks better. Thanks for your help.

 

I know I'm going to botch describing how I was taught on cutlines, but I guess the simple way to say it is this: Your white space should flow to corner of the page the quickest.

So for the photo he used, at most of my stops, you'd run the cutline all the way to the bottom of the photo and the white space at the top so it runs into the corner and out of the page. If the photo is at the bottom, it's the direct opposite. You'd run the cutline at the top of the photo so the white space flows off the page.

I have no idea if that made sense. But it did in my head.

 

1. I wasn't ripping you. I was just feeling your pain.

2. Cool.

3. See above, if it makes any sense.

4. I got no problem with five stories out front. More than five? I have a problem. But I think if you mugged Kenseth, you probably wouldn't have had it look so busy.

5. No problem.

P.S. I start a new job in a week. My pages will be making appearances up here.

 

I like the rail much better on the bottom.

I also like the package but, I won't lie, the amount of "white space" at the top was a bit distracting ... I might have pushed it up, let the skyscraper encroach over the green line in your flag ... then again, I was always a go big or go home type guy and not everybody likes that.

 

Strong work, Doc. I like almost all of the pages you post on here and this is no exception. Now you just have to lobby your bosses for a better sports flag. That thing is just gross.