It’s me! Back from hiatus with some news…
Seems like we all missed it, but the Island Packet in Bluffton, S.C., recently redesigned. I can’t find any real info on their Web site beyond some blurbs asking for feedback, but I can provide before and after samples. If anyone out there can lend some insight, please do. I’m sending an e-mail to the designers there. Enjoy! EDIT: Also redesigning was sister paper the Beaufort Gazette.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Ernie: So when...
Eh, color me unimpressed. They improved their visual punch, but Bluffton’s still got them beat when it comes to innovation.
Plus, they stole a lot of their look from their company’s former lead racehorse, Minneapolis.
They were in need of a redesign, though they were also in need of a rethinking, too.
The redesign was done by Bill Ostendorf and Circle Media. I think it looks pretty good. Bill did make a lot of suggestions, and we’ll see if they are implemented.
Thank you for the compliment Francie. We are still working with Bill Ostendorf and Creative Circle and constantly trying to improve. Ernie, you may remember me. I was an editor at the Savannah Morning News and I think our paths may have crossed. I have to say, I’m really proud of how far we’ve come with the Packet in the 18 months I’ve been here. Like all newspapers, we can constantly improve.
I’m wondering in your post why you didn’t say that you were once a designer at our competition, Bluffton Today? I would think that might have colored your comments just a bit?
Just a thought.
“Stole a lot from Minneapolis” actually seems to be a bit of an understatement. Does anyone else think the base design looks like pretty much a carbon copy of the Star Tribune? It doesn’t look bad because they’re copying a pretty nice redesign done in Minneapolis. But that was done for a whole different community of readers in very different place. If you’re going to the trouble of redesigning and bringing in consultents, wouldn’t you want something a little more original and reflective of your region?
Do innovative things with reader interaction instead of screens and then we can talk, Sally.
I realize I used to work in Bluffton, but I also know everyone who posts on this site also knows that. So stop pretending that I’m playing harsh with loyalties here.
I know from working in Bluffton that we weren’t taking the kneejerk baby steps that this redesign seems to indicate. We were taking honest chances with stuff. Real risks just to see what sticks. And we weren’t always right when I worked there, but we weren’t doing the same tired schtick every day.
The Packet’s redesign seems by and large a reaction to Bluffton and as a result, I feel like the scrutiny I gave back in February is well-deserved.