Comments on: An in-depth look at the new Hartford Courant redesign http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2008/09/an-in-depth-look-at-the-new-hartford-courant-redesign/ www.visualeditors.com/apple Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:24:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: John http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2008/09/an-in-depth-look-at-the-new-hartford-courant-redesign/comment-page-1/#comment-35894 John Sun, 02 Aug 2009 01:54:50 +0000 http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2008/09/an-in-depth-look-at-the-new-hartford-courant-redesign/#comment-35894 No matter how good the paper looks, the paper will eventually stop printing. The content simply is horrible. Go ahead and plate the paper in gold, it will eventually fail because of the content. No matter how good the paper looks, the paper will eventually stop printing. The content simply is horrible. Go ahead and plate the paper in gold, it will eventually fail because of the content.

]]> By: Carolyn http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2008/09/an-in-depth-look-at-the-new-hartford-courant-redesign/comment-page-1/#comment-18288 Carolyn Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:15:42 +0000 http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2008/09/an-in-depth-look-at-the-new-hartford-courant-redesign/#comment-18288 As a closet writer, I am ready to come out and display my work. This morning I decided that I need a vehicle to introduce me to readers. I decided the Hartford Couraant would be a great vehicle for this after I picked up my Sunday Hartford Courant from my driveway, came into the house and sat down with it instead of turning on the TV. With a coffee at my side, I inspected The Courant a little closer than usual. YES! This is where I want to have my words printed. The visual design is not only eye catching but inviting to those who are used to the internet design. The use of CT and .com throughout the paper is a message to the reader that this is "our" paper and if need be, it can be found on the internet. Let's face it. Most people do go on the internet or watch TV for gathering news. However, papers like the Hartford Courant provide a "down home" flavor and an escape the reader needs from the more heavy-hearted news of wars and collapsing stock markets. Such as today's column written by Susan Campbell; Noisier Ghosts Might Help. I believe the new design of the Hartford Courant can and will bring more readers from the internet back into a "new" tradition of reading the local paper. As a matter of fact, I think I will extend my subscription from the Sunday paper to every day delivery. As a closet writer, I am ready to come out and display my work. This morning I decided that I need a vehicle to introduce me to readers.
I decided the Hartford Couraant would be a great vehicle for this after I picked up my Sunday Hartford Courant from my driveway, came into the house and sat down with it instead of turning on the TV. With a coffee at my side, I inspected The Courant a little closer than usual. YES! This is where I want to have my words printed.
The visual design is not only eye catching but inviting to those who are used to the internet design. The use of CT and .com throughout the paper is a message to the reader that this is “our” paper and if need be, it can be found on the internet. Let’s face it. Most people do go on the internet or watch TV for gathering news. However, papers like the Hartford Courant provide a “down home” flavor and an escape the reader needs from the more heavy-hearted news of wars and collapsing stock markets. Such as today’s column written by Susan Campbell; Noisier Ghosts Might Help.
I believe the new design of the Hartford Courant can and will bring more readers from the internet back into a “new” tradition of reading the local paper. As a matter of fact, I think I will extend my subscription from the Sunday paper to every day delivery.

]]> By: Peter http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2008/09/an-in-depth-look-at-the-new-hartford-courant-redesign/comment-page-1/#comment-17842 Peter Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:24:22 +0000 http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2008/09/an-in-depth-look-at-the-new-hartford-courant-redesign/#comment-17842 I love newspapers. I subscribe to the Courant and two other papers, delivered each morning and have for years. I understand many papers are in serious financial trouble, including the Courant. I predict the new design will not attract new customers and will drive away the rest. The new design is disorderly, unbalanced, and lacks harmony. It creates in the reader tension, frustration, confusion, and makes the reader want to put the paper down and never read it again. The new Courant has lost sight of one fundamental fact: A newspaper is supposed to be read and enjoyed. I used to look forward opening the Courant each morning. I now dread it. There is no enjoyment and it cannot be read. The vertical "masthead" is out of place and the letters are sideways and unreadable. It wastes prime real estate that should be used to advantage. It reminds me of seeing a crooked picture on a wall - you want to walk over and straighten it. Calling it a .com is false. It is a newspaper, not a web site. The "masthead" is now just a design of a bird - no words. It is neither cute nor clever - it is upsetting and out of place. The front page is divided into horizontal thirds, so the important news, upper right hand headline, has disappeared. So we can't tell what important news has happened. The front page is now relegated to the many ways our fellow humans can suffer. When Senator Obama won the election, I half-expected it to be buried on some inside page, so conditioned I had become with not knowing where to look for national news. Where the design goes beyond infuriating is where it uses different type faces in a pull-quote, starting it in large print and then diminishing the print half-way through. This is akin to like installing speed bumps on Interstate 91. The mind can't read the quote, and must stop, re-start and stop again. I can no longer sight read section headings. They are preceded by letters "CT" and form no words. "CTLIVING" and "CTSPORTS" are not words, and I cannot grasp them without stopping to figure out where the space is supposed to be. Printing "CT" in a different color doesn't help. To make it worse, the words use fat print, which my mind is unused to seeing and cannot grasp without slowing down. I have reluctantly concluded that it is simply too taxing to locate information, too difficult to read the type face, and too upsetting to locate information, and too disorienting to try to read it. The new design is profoundly disrespectful of the newspaper traditions. What they took away was the balance, order and harmony of the old format, and substituted a mishmash of form, color, type faces, pictures, non-words. The eye and mind cannot focus. Rather than looking forward to opening the morning paper, I look forward to January 5, when my subscription expires after more than 30 years. It will not be renewed. I love newspapers. I subscribe to the Courant and two other papers, delivered each morning and have for years. I understand many papers are in serious financial trouble, including the Courant. I predict the new design will not attract new customers and will drive away the rest. The new design is disorderly, unbalanced, and lacks harmony. It creates in the reader tension, frustration,
confusion, and makes the reader want to put the paper down and never read it again.

The new Courant has lost sight of one fundamental fact:
A newspaper is supposed to be read and enjoyed. I used to look forward opening the Courant each morning. I now dread it. There is no enjoyment and it cannot be read. The vertical “masthead” is out of place and
the letters are sideways and unreadable. It wastes prime real estate that should be used to advantage. It reminds me of seeing a crooked picture on a wall - you want to walk over and straighten it. Calling it a .com is false. It is a newspaper, not a web site. The “masthead” is now just a design of a bird - no words.
It is neither cute nor clever - it is upsetting and out of place.
The front page is divided into horizontal thirds,
so the important news, upper right hand headline, has disappeared. So we
can’t tell what important news has happened. The front page is now relegated to the many ways our fellow humans can suffer. When Senator Obama won the election, I half-expected it to be buried on some inside page, so conditioned I had become with not knowing where to look for national news. Where the design goes beyond infuriating is where it uses different type faces in a pull-quote, starting it in large print and then diminishing the print half-way through. This is akin to like installing speed bumps on Interstate 91. The mind can’t read the quote, and must stop, re-start and stop again. I can no longer sight read section headings. They are preceded by letters “CT” and form no words. “CTLIVING” and “CTSPORTS” are not words, and I cannot grasp them without stopping to figure out where the space is supposed to be. Printing “CT” in a different color doesn’t help. To make it worse, the words use fat print, which my mind is unused to seeing and cannot grasp without slowing down.
I have reluctantly concluded that it is simply too taxing to locate information, too difficult to read the type face, and too upsetting to locate information, and too disorienting to try to read it. The new design is profoundly disrespectful of the newspaper traditions. What they took away was the balance, order and
harmony of the old format, and substituted a mishmash of form, color, type faces, pictures, non-words.

The eye and mind cannot focus.
Rather than looking forward to opening the morning paper, I look forward to January 5, when my subscription expires after more than 30 years. It will not be renewed.

]]> By: Daniel Walkington http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2008/09/an-in-depth-look-at-the-new-hartford-courant-redesign/comment-page-1/#comment-15246 Daniel Walkington Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:39:24 +0000 http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2008/09/an-in-depth-look-at-the-new-hartford-courant-redesign/#comment-15246 Being from Australia, I've never seen this paper before. That being said the redesign looks like a winner to me. I've worked as a designer on papers before and I think that with a couple of weeks adjustment this will be seen as a winner. It looks like the word count will be down slightly, but it is good to see a little breathing room on some pages. The negative space that has been left highlights the headlines better. My only beef is with the .com tacked onto the vertical masthead. Being from Australia, I’ve never seen this paper before. That being said the redesign looks like a winner to me. I’ve worked as a designer on papers before and I think that with a couple of weeks adjustment this will be seen as a winner.

It looks like the word count will be down slightly, but it is good to see a little breathing room on some pages. The negative space that has been left highlights the headlines better.

My only beef is with the .com tacked onto the vertical masthead.

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