For your consideration…
An effective use of white space? Or a total waste of newsprint?
(Click for a larger view of all those white pixels)
I think it’s awfully effective. And a bold thing to do out front.
What do you think?
An effective use of white space? Or a total waste of newsprint?
(Click for a larger view of all those white pixels)
I think it’s awfully effective. And a bold thing to do out front.
What do you think?
March 17th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
While I like the idea, I think the execution is flawed. Too much air on the left side of the art, and I don’t like the interaction of the art with the hed. Also, to be honest, I think a big part of what irks me is the typography — I think the font for the hed is drastically wrong.
March 17th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
WOW. Totally effective and very bold. I love it!
I would buy that if I walked by the newsstand.
March 17th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
While I like the drop cap, I would have also punched up the size of the text for that story. Having that stick surrounded by all that air is just too awkward for me.
March 17th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
I really like this front page and use of white space, but I can’t help but feel like the condor is going to attack that struggling man barely holding on…
March 17th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
It’d be bolder if it was shown on a rack. Alas, it’s buried inside the R-J.
March 17th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
You can’t argue that it’s a bold and ballsy attempt. But I would disagree with its effectiveness. I would have rather seen that empty space at the bottom filled with whatever pitfalls await the people of Vegas, you know, circling sharks. If not, then shrink the package down so that you get more use of that space. Then you have room to put a strip across the bottom and get another story on the page.
March 17th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
Indeed, Daniel, that’s one reason bold is gold: readers leafing through the Review-Journal will come to the Sun, realize it’s a different product than the R-J and pull it out.
March 17th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Best response I’ve seen yet came via Twitter. An anonymous editor friend of mine says:
> Waste of space. They could have run 6
> photos of naked men in that spot.
Heh…
March 17th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
I want six reasons why I should hold on, if I lived in Vegas.
We need to offer solutions not just project problems.
March 17th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Hokey. Waste of space. They could’ve gotten the same effect by wrapping the story around the man. Btw, where is his right hand?
March 17th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
I always like when a paper dares to take chances. And I think this works. The execution could have been better. But it jumped at me. I also might have thought about using a couple more people hanging from the headline (maybe from the first “O” and the “D”), then place the text underneath them. It might shore up some of the white space and make it a little more modular. Still, I appreciate the effort.
March 18th, 2010 at 1:01 am
To answer the question as you phrased it, Charles, I’ll say it’s a waste of newsprint. What does the white space add to the story? What point does it help to illustrate? I don’t see one. And I have to throw this out there: A clip art white guy represents Las Vegas?
Sure, the design is clever and outside the box, but I don’t see how it helps the reader understand the story, or, at the very least, communicates the appropriate information to the reader.
It’s an economy story with numbers from a Brookings report. I’d rather see charts and stats on exactly what has changed for the better, what has remained flat, and what has changed for the worse. If this report says the area is on the cusp of economic improvement, show me why they believe that. This was a prime moment for a nice infographic to help readers sift through the numbers, and to help them understand what the report means to them.
I also liked Clif’s “six reasons to hold on.” Anything that is informative is an improvement over a guy hanging from the headline.
Design-wise, where is his right hand? Also, I don’t think he’s going to cast that dark a shadow from that height.
I realize this might come across as a harsh critique, and that as far as I know, the designer hasn’t asked anyone’s opinion. Still, I’d love to hear about the design and editing process that went into this layout.
March 18th, 2010 at 9:17 am
I agree with both Josh and Clif. It’s pretty, it’s bold, but it doesn’t tell me anything. It doesn’t educate, inform, or even really entice me to read the article. I’d start with retooling the headline, adding in concrete information from the report, then do sidebar/pullout explaining now that we’ve reached this point, what happens next, or what’s some good advice for job seekers/home owners now?
March 18th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Disagree with most comments. It has you all talking, right? Enough to turn a page for a reader then. Love it.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Octavio, a missing right hand makes him look like he is stuck. Window dressing. It does not inform. Those first couple graphs talk about data, reports, total output of goods and services grew slightly, substantial reduction in the foreclosure rate. I hope the jump has some numbers.
March 18th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
As long as we’re Monday-morning-quarterbacking this thing, I’d say the illustration’s sin is not the vat of white space, but the repetition of word and image. Headline says Hold On. Image says “guy holding on.” Word and image should complement each other, not repeat.
Oodles of white space heighten the sense of drama, which you can at least argue for. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with trying to provoke an emotional reaction — geez, you do want your publication to be noticed. But you should have something worthy of that provocation.