Files under General | Jul
16th
Founded in 1893, De Telegraaf in Amsterdam is one of the worst designed newspapers in the world, but is the largest Dutch daily national popular morning newspaper.
The average circulation is about 808,300 copies, which makes it by far the biggest newspaper in the Netherlands.
During summer it even exceeds 1 million.
The average reach of De Telegraaf is 2.4 million people, that is 18.8 % of the Dutch population aged 13 years and older.
And, yes, its Web site has no better design.
Busy, busy design!
If these print and digital editions work with this amazing look, imagine the results with a more reader-friendly design.
Tags: Amsterdam, De Telegraaf, newspaper design
By Spiros Polikandriotis - Jul 16, 2009 | Leave a reply
Sorry but there is NO design here. Makes you wonder though that 800.000 straggle to navigate in these pages every day!!!
By Parka - Jul 16, 2009 | Leave a reply
Goes to say that story is still king. Same reason why boring books filled with text – think Harry Potter – can sell.
By Mladen Runkas - Jul 16, 2009 | Leave a reply
Maybe this is what readers want
But, doubt that the content is so good that they do not mind bad design.
Readers do not struggle, they were accustomed to. Sad but true.
By Grzegorz Piechota - Jul 16, 2009 | Leave a reply
@ Juan Antonio,
You say it’s the worst design in the world, but maybe it’s the best for its audience.
I agree that De Telegraaf looks noisy, messy and disordered, but at the same time I find it emotional, straight and down-to-earth. It appears to be hot, busy and rushed to report the latest news and the most unbelievable stories. It stands out from the other Dutch papers, especially ”upper-market” ones.
I don’t know Dutch language and have been to the Netherlands just twice, but I guess this design may perfectly fit its market’s living styles, tastes, the context within these people operate and the world as they may see it — cluttered, aggresive, dirty.
So — and it’s just a guess — this ”worst” design may be the most appropriate one for De Telegraaf, as it serves well emotional needs of their readers. You may disappoint them when trying to organize their favourite chaos by making the paper look cleaner, cooler, or more ”reader-friendly” as you define it.
Finally, there must be a reason it’s a market leader. We both know many papers as successful, as messy: Bild Zeitung in Germany, Fakt in Poland, Aftonbladet in Sweden, Verdens Gang in Norway… They don’t win many design awards, as for example Eleftheros Tipos — a Greek daily recently shut, but it would be a mistake to say they have no design. Chaos is a form of order, however definite.
(I am not saying that a revolutionary and award-winning design killed that Greek daily. Of course, it was more complex, as you explained in a recent post. What I mean is that their award-winning design has not saved them either.)
There is a great book on user centered engineering and design called ”Emotional design” written by Donald Norman. He claims there is more and more everyday things designed as works of art, meant to be admired as objects standing alone. Their design often focuses upon itself, not upon those who must live with it. Of course there is a market for such objects, but there is still a large, or maybe even larger, market for the ugly.
By the way: you must have seen the VG website (www.vg.no), it’s much more messy than the one of De Telegraaf. It’s also very different in feel and look from the admired Guardian’s or the New York Times’ clean home pages. At the same time Norwegians are very successful in reaching the audience and making money online. Irony?
By Juan Antonio Giner - Jul 16, 2009 | Leave a reply
Greg,
Of course hat design only doesn’t sell.
My point is that if you have good content, and De Telegraaf must have it, better design will bring more readers and more and better advertiser.
As simple as that.
It’s a “win-win” proposition.
By Tom Corbett - Jul 23, 2009 | Leave a reply
The only reason The Telegraaf has 800′000 in circulation despite its design and its disgusting kind of journalism is because 90% of its readers are +70 years old. Sorry. In 2 to 10 years we will see their circulation go down by +50% due to massive deaths of their readers. No offense intended.
By Juan Antonio Giner - Jul 23, 2009 | Leave a reply
Tom, Thanks and I hope that De Teegraaf is aware of that.
By Carl Boniface - Oct 6, 2009 | Leave a reply
Design is a question of taste. Having the best looking weapon doesn’t necessarily mean you will attract more people to it. What counts is its quality of aim and benefits associated to it. Obviously De Telegraaf offers comprehensive information for its audience. Whether the design experts like it or not it doesn’t matter. I think this is a great sign that modern fashion doesn’t always get it right!