Design thread

Re: Design thread *Updated 1/20*

dools, you're thinking about college football's hard-core fans, those who really care that USC-Texas is that much better than North Texas-Southern Miss.

There's a whole 'nother bunch of people out there who don't know who Penn State's middle linebacker is ... and they just enjoy sitting down to a bowl game in mid-December, regardless of who it is.

 

Re: Design thread *Updated 1/20*

Va. Pilot's bowl package: Fine and functional, but what's the deal with the light teal-ish bar up top? I've seen them use that color before. What is this, Virginia Beach Vice?

Herald-Sun's bowl package: Also fine and functional. Also wondering about the color choice for the topper. It's almost like the girl's sitting in front of a fat dude's shirt he picked up at the outlet store.

In both cases, I don't mind that all the bowls get equal play. I don't imagine people are going to pick it up and say "wtf do they really think the Rose and the Champs Sports Bowl are on equal footing?" It's an easily-consumed load of info and in both cases, they did their jobs nicely (I'd probably read the Pilot's first, but that's more because of Rich Radford writing the caps — he does a good job with snarky).

 

Re: Design thread *Updated 1/20*

Sorry, y'all. A waste. The Net does something like this much better. Not enough readers interested in the minor bowls; hell, they generally don't draw in the towns they take place in, much less asking something in Virginia to give a crap about the Motor City Bowl. Lop off the useless comment part, downscale it a bit, and you have a nice schedule graphic to set up the bowl season.

Designed decently? Sure. But the designer's time could have been much better spent toward a project that would be of more use to the paper's future cultivation of readers.

 

Re: Design thread *Updated 1/20*

Re: Full Plate
The first thing that caught my attention and burned my retinas was the "wallpaper" behind the stock photo. When you've got so much going on within the page, no need to create a colorful wallpaper. Either leave it blank or put something more mild behind the photo. And as a bowl junkie, I enjoy reading through briefs like that.

Re: How'd He Do That?
How did they get the screen shots so clear? Are those shots from TV/satellite feed or the internet? Well done... anything less crisp would have sunk the graphic.

 

Re: Design thread *Updated 1/20*

It's ComCastic!

 

Re: Design thread *Updated 1/21*

Hey all -

I received this from a board member looking for some feedback.
It's a mock-up of the daily Olympics report page.
Any suggestions?



Oh - and the fonts may not be exact, so disregard those.

 

Re: Design thread *Updated 1/21*

Unless that empty box at the bottom is destined to be a photo, I would find a way to get more pics on the page.

Also, depending on the actual results and how ragged-right they're looking, I'd think about switching the results and the left-side rail.

I do like the "TV Highlights" at the top - quick and easy.

 

Re: Design thread *Updated 1/21*

Definitely another photo is needed here.


And like Cadet said, switch the two rails. That way you don't have excess white space down the right side of the page.

 

Re: Design thread *Updated 1/21*

the page overall is nice, clean and orderly. as mentioned above, it's nice to get that tv info right at the top...

a few suggestions...

> that space at the bottom of the page looks like it's destined to be a strip ad. but i could be wrong...

> i actually like the results on the right. if you move it to the left, you get all that white space created but the ragged edge trapped in the middle of the page. personally i find it a lot less distracting on the edge..(though i do wonder if there's any way to make that column narrower? perhaps abbreviate some things in the really long lines?)

> rather than running more photos, how about running the art you do have a bit bigger. it'd help keep the page clean, and would add some drama to the page, since most of the photos you'll use during the olympics will be pretty strong...

> that cutout over on the left is a bit awkward. the first thing i'd as is: does it need to be a cutout. would you be better served by a nice, tight cropped face shot? (not a mug, per se ... use a shot more candid than the typical mug). if you do feel the cutout is necessary, then try to run the full body. if that's not doable, then it needs to be grounded in a rule or you'll need to fade it to white at the waist, so you don't get the floating torso syndrome. but my preference would be the tight face shot, because it'll show people who you're writing about...

> dollar to a dime that page topper would be cleaner if you ditch the logo (is it really needed anyway?) and just flushed the 2006 Olympics over to the left, giving the tv info some breathing room....

 

Re: Design thread *Updated 1/21*

The subheds are way too small, even if the font did default.

China's Nina==>
upsets=====>
Americans,===>
takes aerials==>
gold=======>

Sloppy and poor. If it's not flush, then it can always be recrafted. This is where writing skills come in.

 

Re: Design thread *Updated 1/21*

LJB, I'm guessing that was a three-line deck, but the font expanded, bumping it. Same way you lose the last word of the hammer.

Aside from all the grey, I like this page. I think the picture should go larger...three columns maybe, if you can cut the copy (I'm guessing it's AP) enough to make it work. I also agree with Chris on the right rail...it would look odd to me to trap ragged right along the left rail.

 

Re: Design thread *Updated 1/21*

Yes, OK, makes sense now. Disregard previous post.