Design thread

[dixiehack]

Re: Design thread *Updated 3/22*

There's a lot of room between having 12 stories on the front and having design camps that obsess over pages reduced to the size of dollar bills.

I, too, would like to know the real story behind the circulation increase.

And I am calling bullshirt on the claim that 1,000 more inches of classified ads are sold in connection with the redesign alone. I guarantee there's more to that story.

Tick, tick, tick, tick

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/posts/592123/

 

[DyePack]

Re: Design thread *Updated 3/22*

There's a lot of room between having 12 stories on the front and having design camps that obsess over pages reduced to the size of dollar bills.

I, too, would like to know the real story behind the circulation increase.

And I am calling bullshirt on the claim that 1,000 more inches of classified ads are sold in connection with the redesign alone. I guarantee there's more to that story.

Tick, tick, tick, tick

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/posts/592123/

One issue has nothing to do with the other, unless you believe people see a front page and buy hundreds of inches of classified ads.

But tick away.

 

[dixiehack]

Re: Design thread *Updated 3/22*

Just reminding you the invitation to give us all the answers remains open.

 

[DyePack]

Re: Design thread *Updated 3/22*

Just reminding you the invitation to give us all the answers remains open.

OK. Glad to hear it.

 

[LukeKnox]

Re: Design thread *Updated 3/22*

Thought I'd post a few recent pages and get some SportsJournalists.com opinions. I think the outdoors page from the N&O is especially nice, given that few papers of their size have smart, well-designed outdoors pages.

Your thoughts on any of these? Discuss.

 

[Desk_dude]

Re: Design thread *Updated 3/25*

I think the "arms race" page is way too gimmicky. It brings more attention to the display of the type, rather than the photos. This display treatment has no specific relevance to the story. Plus, that's a lot of type on the page.

 

[Sxysprtswrtr]

Re: Design thread *Updated 3/25*

Unless it is for a poster (and then in some cases I'm not a fan), placing type on a "live photo" is not very cool.

 

[DyePack]

Re: Design thread *Updated 3/25*

Unless it is for a poster (and then in some cases I'm not a fan), placing type on a "live photo" is not very cool.

Photographers love it, though.

 

[shotglass]

Re: Design thread *Updated 3/25*

Well, we do it on a tab cover every night and haven't heard a heck of a lot of complaints.

 

[dooley_womack1]

Re: Design thread *Updated 3/25*

1. That "finally," lowercase f, looks so odd, and detracts from a very nice pic.

2. At least that page tried to make only one thing special. But it's a crime to make a reader have to do gymnastics to read the type. Smacks of a designer saying, "gee, look what I can do with type!"

3. Agreed. Very solid, a case of less geegaws adding up to more.

4. Basic, solid-shaped page. That main hedline face is very blah looking. And way too small of type on the bottom stuff.

 

[shotglass]

Re: Design thread *Updated 3/25*

I'm with dooley on that head font. Does nothing for me in a big banner.

 

[Songbird]

Re: Design thread *Updated 3/25*

The thing about the Arms Race package — and I use this argument with pretty much any out-of-the-box design — is that if you asked 100 readers of that sports section, "Hey, what do you think of this front-page package story about pitchers?" AT LEAST 95 of them would say, "That's pretty cool. It's neat how you did that with the photos and the text." (and if they didn't say that, it'd be something close to it).

See, what we forget about our readers is that they'll read whatever we give them, however it looks, diagonal text across the page or enormous photos with stat boxes and pull quotes and did-you-know factoids and all the other bells and whistles known to man. The only ones who act overly critical of design are us, the journos.

It's funny how we cut each other down to size. The Arms Race package is different. As a newspaper reader, it caught my eye, and I know I would've read at least the entire front-page part of the article.