Design thread

Re: Design thread *Thanksgiving edition*

Agreed. Other classic Greene moments: Jerry in the pink bunny suit for easter, Jerry with a walrus and -- yup -- Jerry as the fat lady. (Those others, for the most part, ran inside with his column.)

This is Jerry's schtick and readers in Orlando love him for it.

FWIW, The designer wrote on NPD that the 'OF' showed up much better in print than it does online.

 

Re: Design thread *Thanksgiving edition*

Hoops, you and I agree on a lot of things, but I'm not with you here.

Selling unique, proprietary (sorry) copy and your paper's (or website's, or whatever's) personalities sets you apart from other places that have all the same AP copy and events covered throughout the section. Papers should push their people more, not less.

Meanwhile, the Thanksgiving Day paper is a unique one anyway. And my feelings on taking ourselves too seriously have been repeated enough.

Jerry Greene's a local legend and popular with the readership.

I thought it was a fun cover and had no problem with it, the possible design flaws that have been noted here aside.

 

Re: Design thread *Thanksgiving edition*

Not to knock any of the recent posts, just a reminder ... it's a design thread.

The newsworthiness of something is certainly fodder for discussion, but first and foremost, I think Carrie intended this to be a discussion of design issues on posted pages.

 

Re: Design thread *Thanksgiving edition*

But isn't part of design playing up the stories that should be played up?

I think newsworthiness becomes part of the conversation.

 

Re: Design thread *Thanksgiving edition*

Indeed it is. You're quite right.

But we're into the "pretty-fying" of pages, too.

So, talk Franklin Gothic Condensed to me!

 

Re: Design thread *Thanksgiving edition*

On the Thanksgiving page:

I know it's Sentinel style to contain the columnist on the cover in the rail on the right, but the width is flexible up to a point to accommodate the length of the column. I think it works to be wider in this instance because of the centerpiece, but I think if you wanted to have a fourth start on the cover you'd really need to sit down and think about jumping the column.

On the centerpiece - just a couple of issues. I don't really like the underline on the main hed because I just don't think it serves a purpose other than just being there. Also, the body type on the centerpiece is an odd size to me - too small to be a headline size, but almost too big to be thought of as body type. It could also be the reproduction of this jpeg, too. If you're going to go with larger body type, I think the type on the "Inside Stuffing" section should have been the same size as the key at the bottom of the page.

Also, I like the idea behind the "key", but I wonder if it may have been better served on the back page only. Because I see that and wonder what it has to do with anything out on the front. Especially if you don't have a list of games or anything to accompany it.

 

Re: Design thread *Thanksgiving edition*

I don't think so . . . for purposes of this discussion.

A designer is pretty much at the mercy of the decisions made in the budget meeting . . . by his superiors. Let's say, after the usual half-dozen opinions are solicited, it comes out like this:

"A is the centerpiece, B is your next best story, and C and D are our other stories on the front."

I would hate to design that page --- according to the parameters set before me --- and then see people on here criticize its design because "D was underplayed" or "E and F should have made the front page but didn't."

 

Re: Design thread *Thanksgiving edition*

Sorry, BTE, but playing up the stories that need to be played up is part of design. E and F are irrelevant here. But if D needed a bigger hedline but didn't get it because there was too much dead space in the CP, for example, that is relevant. Design should be in service of content, not the other way around.

 

Re: Design thread *Thanksgiving edition*

I just assumed it was like our paper, where the design guy/gal is in on the meeting.

 

Re: Design thread *Thanksgiving edition*

I think the Interstate font family is my favorite font family.

Sometimes I like Franklin Gothic, though.

But really, I think my heart lies with Interstate.

 

Re: Design thread *Thanksgiving edition*

and Carrie brings it back on topic.

I'm kind of jealous . . . I don't know anything about fonts.

 

Re: Design thread *Thanksgiving edition*

I like Interstate because of all the different weights it has. You can pretty much do anything with it.
Though I don't really like the ital. Small price to pay, I guess.