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.

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?