Visual Editors
Visual Editors, NFP was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2004.
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Judy Romanowich Smith
Newbie
Joined: 18 Oct 2005
Posts: 3
Location: Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Posted:
Tue May 16, 2006 8:10 pm
|
|
| |
Hi Kyle,
I can offer you a few ideas on your front pages.
Generally, you are doing a good job with balance. I also like the breakouts you are doing, such as the "quick fact" and "The issue." You have a low story count to work with, so you are getting good story starts.
A couple of ideas for improvement:
Vary the art elements in the 1st col rail. Throw a couple of cutouts in there for variety and maybe a little illo. As they are, all those little photos are about the same size and don't have much impact.
Vary the size of headlines more. Establish a hierarchy of news with the size of the heds. Avoid using color on a news page hed (as in the "Affordable" hed).
Reduce the size of your mug shots. They seem very large.
The rail of mugs with the "Good Morning" story was a good idea. Would have been more effective with meaty cutlines... We don't really "meet" these people just by seeing their faces. Tell me something about them!
Try for more active photography.
One thought on the feature page:
The idea is great. The text seems too symetrical. I would have put some of the supplementary material (those boxes on either side of the neck and possibly the history off tattoos) inside and left the white space and let the main story run longer. Also, a small point: I would have put the section flag behind the model's head. Readers know what it says... if you cover part of it, that's ok!
Hope this helps! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
kylelarson
Newbie
Joined: 07 Nov 2005
Posts: 2
Location: Sedona, AZ
Posted:
Wed May 17, 2006 10:10 am
|
|
|
| |
Thanks for the response! I will begin trying out some of your ideas. I did a quick comparison on the Mug size of our closest daily (The AZ republic), and you are right, they are big. Ours are 8.5 picas by 6.5 picas. Whereas the republic is 7.5p x 5.5p. We will be reducing them for Friday's issue, and this should actually help some word wrapping issues around 1 col. stories as well. As far as the 1st column rail, this was something that has not been addressed until now. I am vying for a skybox of sort, but until then, I am going to be changing up the siders for the next couple of issues, and see if we can't get something going there, perhaps a "quick read" type of feature also?
Anyone else's input would be great.
Thank You,
Kyle Larson |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vern Faulkner
Contributing editor
Joined: 23 May 2005
Posts: 174
Location: Victoria, BC
Posted:
Sat Jul 01, 2006 5:35 pm
|
|
|
| |
| kylelarson wrote:: | | Just posted a couple of my pages to newspagedesigner. We are a community paper of about 7500 circualtion published twice a week. Would love for some opinions, advice, etc.... |
I'm in much the same ballpark myself: twice per week, 7,200 circulation.
My first thought: you've got acres of space (we went through an emasculating redesign, last September that is so limiting for creativity: you don't know the gem you have with space....) so use it. I see lots of grey/gray and a definite possibility for more and larger pics. Do look at running more pictures and larger pictures.
I disagree with the declaration above that your mugs are too big. I do, however, think that they appear larger to the other contributor largely because of insufficient size for main art, which makes the mugs stand out more against the surrounding grey/gray.
The grey/gray (I'm Canadian, doncha know) is what stand out for me. I look at the the May 17 paper, for example. The main art for "every 15 minutes" is parked right on the right-hand edge. I think the layout would be stronger with the story about the school land placed on the far right: all the art elements would still be isolated from each other, but the result, in my mind, would be a more balanced look.
Maybe grab that old indesign/quark/whatever document, push that school story to the right and see what the result is?
_________________
--
Vern Faulkner, Camerapro Mediaworks
Free resources for community newspaper journalists
www.camerapro.ca |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Previous topic
Next topic
