Design thread

Re: Design thread *updated 11/7*

Good solid page. Lots -- and I mean lots -- of good information. Just a couple minor things.

1.) It looks almost too cluttered. I'd think about setting off the centerpiece with an extra pica of space around it. Just give it some room to breath.

2.) I absolutely, positively hate doglegs. I hate them on a golf course. I hate them on a page. I hate them on a dog. I would have tried to find another photo instead of that one, but if you couldn't, I understand.

3.) I agree with everybody else's comments.

Seriously, a good page. Just a few minor things.

 

Re: Design thread *updated 11/7*

Half of an inside page (and an oversized one at that) is hopefully better than none.

 

Re: Design thread *updated 11/7*

I know the intention on the cutout, and it's a nice thought. But it still looks a little unnatural. Maybe a dashed line rather than a solid line? That's generally the indication for cutout dolls.

 

Re: Design thread *updated 11/9*

OK, I know Rob had asked for more inside pages, but this cover caught my eye and I thought it might lead to some interesting discussions.

From the San Jose Mercury News:



Thoughts?

 

Re: Design thread *updated 11/10*

Good lord, someone has to make a call. The Chiefs-Raiders game was the story of the day in the NFL. That had to be the main package, instead of this half-measures stuff. With what they did, I as a reader passed up the busyness and mirror symmetry on either side, glanced at Owens, then went down to the bottom story.

 

Re: Design thread *updated 11/10*

I know this San Jose cover is non-traditional by any stretch and it breaks traditional rules that I would immediately hammer on like having a clear visual heirarchy and hedline heirarchy, but ...

here's what I like about this page:
-I know San Jose is in a unique situation in that they cover the Niners and Raiders equally (I think), so that leads to the problem that many papers have: 2-3 huge news stories all coming on the same day. I think this is a unique way of trying to tell those stories.
-It's clear that they were trying to combo the Raiders and Niners stories, even with them not being right next to each other.
-But the main thing I like about this page is the fact that they managed to be ahead of what became the news of the day on Monday: T.O. and the Eagles. I think the default position at most papers is play up the live NFL game of the day at the cost of an unresolved story like T.O. How many other papers played up T.O. this big on Monday?

I know my opinion won't be shared by everyone, but I always applaud different thinking, especially when it's executed with great care and skill, and I think that's exactly what's going on for this page.

 

Re: Design thread *updated 11/10*

I actualy really like the page. Yes, there is a lack of heirarchy, but it certainly looks very well thought out. The only thing I could come up with is since the page is kind of in the mirror-image mode, I would have considered putting the column of the Chiefs game to the left side of that half to balance the column on the right side of the San Fran package. I applaud the risk aken though.

 

Re: Design thread *updated 11/10*


I appreciate the attempt to be different and actually like the page OK, but . . . .

. . . I wonder how far they went to achieve their obviously preconceived idea.

The Chiefs photo, for example, is basically a square cropped to be an extreme vertical.

Who did the Chiefs play? The Raiders? Maybe, but I don't see any Raiders on what was a goal-line stand. And where is the goal line? It was in the photo I saw on the wire, but it's not here.

 

Re: Design thread *updated 11/10*

This is the most consistently interesting and useful thread on the journalism-only board. A hearty salute to all who have made it so.

Ordinarily, I'd recuse myself from commenting on a Mercury News page (or any other, for that matter), but this one is different, in that it was a surprise to me. I've been out of town for much of the past week and wasn't involved in the discussions that led to this particular page.

It jolted me -- and in a delightful way. And while it pains me to agree with my good friend Rob Schneider, here's why I do:

* It nicely balances two hard-to-reconcile topics -- the 49ers, clearly the dominant team in our market from a fan-interest standpoint, and the Raiders, who were involved in perhaps the most interesting game of the weekend.

* It gets out front on T.O., who remains a compelling figure in the Bay Area. The guys who made that decision -- ASEs Tim Ball and Randy Sumimoto -- made a strong bet that the T.O. situation would heat up. Nice gamble by them.

* News value wasn't sacrificed on the altar of daring. There are six stories on that front, and they're not crammed in. They're there because they belong.

The page certainly is unusual, and I would expect no less than some wildly different opinions on its effectiveness. But I know where I come down on it, and I'm awfully proud to have a crew that is willing to try something like this.

Carry on, folks ...

 

Re: Design thread *updated 11/10*

I absolutely love it. Strong play for two stories, equally big. Photo balance is flawless.

 

Re: Design thread *updated 11/10*

Excellent page.

Nice solution to SJ's "problem" of having both the Raiders and Niners to deal with.

Great idea, and top-notch execution.

 

Re: Design thread *updated 11/10*

On the Orlando page, I agree that a dashed line would have been better. Nice page.