• Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Learning page design

NickMordo

Active Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2009
Messages
2,003
I've been working at my current paper for about seven months now, but I've only been relegated to covering events and handling phones. Thus, I have no page design experience, hampering my potential job prospects in a profession where editors want do-it-all journalists.

So, what is the best way to go about this? How can I learn on my own? Do I simulate sports pages somehow or what? TIA
 
Have you talked to your boss about this? If you tell him/her you want to learn, I would hope they'd be willing to allow you to build your overall skills.
 
It's fairly easy to learn.
I was very apprehensive about learning it but now that I've started, I'm hooked.
Downside is I'm now one of the most experienced at my office, so it's been tough to go further than I have right now with it.
Ask your boss if you can start with something simple; a jump page, or something else. Then keep trying more and more.
 
YGBFKM said:
Have you talked to your boss about this? If you tell him/her you want to learn, I would hope they'd be willing to allow you to build your overall skills.

Yes. He said at the moment they have more than enough page designers, which is -- I'm not gonna lie -- a blow to my psyche. I WANT to learn, WANT to be more well-versed. It makes me wonder whether I will ever get an opportunity to do other things there.
 
NickMordo said:
YGBFKM said:
Have you talked to your boss about this? If you tell him/her you want to learn, I would hope they'd be willing to allow you to build your overall skills.

Yes. He said at the moment they have more than enough page designers, which is -- I'm not gonna lie -- a blow to my psyche. I WANT to learn, WANT to be more well-versed. It makes me wonder whether I will ever get an opportunity to do other things there.

There are papers with more than enough page designers? What a luxury.

You can pick up books or classes on design software, familiarize yourself with the functions. Then when the moment comes you'll be ready.

Also, not getting a chance to do layout shouldn't be a blow to your psyche because, honestly, that just says something about the way the newsroom you happen to work at operates.
 
Learning is one thing while applying it to your own web page is another. It is very easy to design your page as it can just be done in simple drag and drop functions but you have t employ several strategies in order for it to be effective. Some functions include security, page scripting, style sheets and a lot more. That would be the technical side of it you can not get that skill overnight. So I guess you could start reviewing sample codes and taking basic classes. And see how it springs from there.
 
becart said:
Learning is one thing while applying it to your own web page is another. It is very easy to design your page as it can just be done in simple drag and drop functions but you have t employ several strategies in order for it to be effective. Some functions include security, page scripting, style sheets and a lot more. That would be the technical side of it you can not get that skill overnight. So I guess you could start reviewing sample codes and taking basic classes. And see how it springs from there.

Are you autistic, because you don't seem to have any reading comprehension? This isn't the first thread where you've post crap like this.
 
NickMordo said:
YGBFKM said:
Have you talked to your boss about this? If you tell him/her you want to learn, I would hope they'd be willing to allow you to build your overall skills.

More than enough designers sounds like a fantasy world I'd like to be a part of!

From someone who's had to do both (beat report/paginate), I'd be willing to bet someone in your office that has to multitask would be glad to help you learn. If for no other reason than to lift some of the burden off his/her own shoulders.

And as far as learning it goes – it seems a bit intimidating at first, but it's actually really easy to get the hang of.

Best of luck.

Yes. He said at the moment they have more than enough page designers, which is -- I'm not gonna lie -- a blow to my psyche. I WANT to learn, WANT to be more well-versed. It makes me wonder whether I will ever get an opportunity to do other things there.
 
becart said:
Learning is one thing while applying it to your own web page is another. It is very easy to design your page as it can just be done in simple drag and drop functions but you have t employ several strategies in order for it to be effective. Some functions include security, page scripting, style sheets and a lot more. That would be the technical side of it you can not get that skill overnight. So I guess you could start reviewing sample codes and taking basic classes. And see how it springs from there.

Do you understand he's not talking about web-page design?

At all?
 
jr/shotglass said:
becart said:
Learning is one thing while applying it to your own web page is another. It is very easy to design your page as it can just be done in simple drag and drop functions but you have t employ several strategies in order for it to be effective. Some functions include security, page scripting, style sheets and a lot more. That would be the technical side of it you can not get that skill overnight. So I guess you could start reviewing sample codes and taking basic classes. And see how it springs from there.

Do you understand he's not talking about web-page design?

At all?

Give the guy a break. He only had four fish sticks for dinner.
 
Nick, I'll recommend what I always recommend.

51PNwfZs8CL._SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRight,12,-18_SH30_OU01_AA160_.jpg


"The Newspaper Designer's Handbook," by Tim Harrower.
 
jr/shotglass said:
Nick, I'll recommend what I always recommend.

51PNwfZs8CL._SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRight,12,-18_SH30_OU01_AA160_.jpg


"The Newspaper Designer's Handbook," by Tim Harrower.

That book helped me a lot when I started designing.

Or you can go becart's route and get this, but I'm sure the kid has all the answers.

417EJTBCK0L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg
 
Back
Top