The graphic design of U.S. newspapers is out of control.
Here is the latest redesign in Texas.
Done by Mario Garcia’s firm.
Well, dirty design is an old trick that works for some newspapers.
But I don’t think it’s the way to make newspapers easy to read.
The future is clean design.
Slow design.
Simple.
Well organized.
Cool design.
Not chaos.
Just wait and see what The Monitor readers say.
Not us.
Them.
UPDATE: I read these common-sense suggestions from Alan Jacobson:
Here’s some free advice for The Monitor:
a) Start with some quality fonts, not a trendy sans that will seem dated in no time. Remember Nehru jackets?
b) Pay attention to letterspacing – You could drive a truck between the letters of the word “H O P E.” All the serif type is poorly spaced.
c) Ask yourself why there is one rounded box at the top of the digest items. It looks like a tombstone.
d) Pay attention to image size in photos. Most faces on this page have no impact because they’re the size of a pea – especially the lead photo.
e) Stick to a grid. This page suffers because its elements are thrown together like a pile of rubble. As in Barney Rubble.
f) Make everything line up with something else. This excellent advice comes from Roger Black. Unfortunately, this most basic of design principles is not part of this design – even the cutline on the lead photo doesn’t line up with the photo it describes.
g) Don’t use two rules when one will do. The bottom of the open shadow box beneath the centerpiece is unnecessary. White space would provide separation without adding noise.
h) Don’t mess with Texas. Weeds obscuring the Lone Star State’s flag? Mercy!
If anyone thinks this is a quality redesign, they should stand up and say so, or offer more ways to fix it.
