Visual Editors
Visual Editors, NFP was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2004.
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ChrisSoprych
Visual Guru
Joined: 24 Mar 2004
Posts: 57
Location: Elgin, IL
Posted:
Tue Jan 24, 2006 10:52 am
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Infographics need just as much editing and care as a news page. You have work and rework graphics to get them to fit in with page one or any other tight page with multiple entry points.
I would suggest that you work with you do best and if its not graphics editing don't try to force a graphic on a page. But, you should take steps to get better at incorporating graphics on the cover.
Step one, visual editing: Most graphics from the wire or from most art departments are square and designed to fit on most interior pages. You can integrate them into your design. You have to break them apart and rebuild them, make them faster, stronger... we have the technology. And please, trim that copy.
Step two, get proficient in Illustrator and Photoshop: Most graphics are created in these programs, so you have to be able to use these programs quickly and efficiently. And, believe me, you'll get better at it.
Step three: Think small. Most graphics are too big, but you have to yank the best visual information out of the graphic. But be careful, there might not be anything relevant, especially in wire graphics (sorry wire folks, but you know it true).
Step four: Don't think too small. Don't be afraid to run large graphic on 1A. They have to be well done of course, but if they are visual compelling, well written and researched you can't go wrong with a graphic on the cover.
Here's some example of graphics on 1A. You might have to dig deep to get to some of them:
http://www.newspagedesigner.com/portfolios/portfolio1.php?UserID=111
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Chris Soprych
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douglas e. jessmer
VizEds Moderator
Joined: 19 Mar 2004
Posts: 1364
Location: Tampa Bay (Clearwater)
Posted:
Tue Jan 24, 2006 1:27 pm
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What it all boils down to is this -- that graphics, photos, stories and non-narrative elements are all created equal. Just as you don't use a screwdriver to hammer nails, you don't use a story when a grafik will work better. Choose the items that produce maximum impact for your front, then jump the rest inside.
I'll be the first one to scream for a grafik for a section front or 1A if it tells the story better, and that's my graphics background coming out. (And hopefully, the graphics desk will agree with me and produce accordingly.) But if the grafik doesn't work as well as another element, or an element that I generate as a designer, I'll gladly throw it inside and explain later.
If a photo doesn't deserve four-column treatment because of relevance or content, regardless of what a photo editor says, I'll find a way to make it smaller and make other elements do heavier lifting. On the other hand, I've been known to run five- and six-column photos. I love big photos that demand reader attention.
Why? Because graphics artists, photo editors and 'word' editors are all specialized. Sometimes, they're even married to their work and won't even think of editing it. They don't see the bigger picture, nor should they be expected to see it (though they should). On the other hand, designers see everything come together. They're expected to make it all make sense, and be the reader's eye. They've got that holistic point of view in the newsroom, even moreso than editors calling the shots on their pages.
So yeah, feel free to knock something inside if it doesn't work. Or get it edited so it does work. What's important on a section front is immediacy -- if you have to stare at something for a few seconds to figure it out, chances are it's not helping you tell a story.
Hope that helps....
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I've upped my standards — now, up yours. |
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Josh Crutchmer
Maestro
Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 251
Location: Omaha World-Herald
Posted:
Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:50 am
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| Brandon Dingess wrote:: | Of late, I'm subscribing to the school of thought that says infographics belong on the inside of the paper, with stories, photos and small breakouts driving people from the front inside.
With five or so stories on the front, my space is limited anyway so I think the jump page is the proper place for further exposition like what a graphic would have. Also, I feel like the front looks too graphically cluttered if I use a graphic because it takes away from the photos.
Does anyone dare defy this Garcia-ism, or should I stick with what I'm doing. |
I want to go back to Brandon's original question, just for a moment.
What is the graphics-design departmental relationship at your place of employment? At what point in the story production process are graphics artists brought on board? The planning level? The beginning of the execution level? At the "We came up an inch short and really need a locator map to fill this space" level?
...
The point to the question being, it's in the realm of possibility that Brandon reached the conclusion that the infographics he comes across consistently fall short of his A1 standards. And I'm wondering if something can be addressed in the process so that the quality of the graphics in front of him can rise to the level where, suddenly, the photos are competing to take away their space, instead of the other way around.
Basically, I'm hitting at Steve's original point and asking whether the infographics that spawned this thread can do some soul-searching and rise to the level that they force their way onto A1 because they ARE the best way to convey a given story and/or urgent information. |
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ChrisSoprych
Visual Guru
Joined: 24 Mar 2004
Posts: 57
Location: Elgin, IL
Posted:
Wed Jan 25, 2006 7:42 am
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| Quote: | | What is the graphics-design departmental relationship at your place of employment? At what point in the story production process are graphics artists brought on board? The planning level? The beginning of the execution level? At the "We came up an inch short and really need a locator map to fill this space" level? |
Good point.
I'd suggest that the graphics folks and the page designer work together to shape the graphics for a specific page or placement in a package, sometimes the page designer can work as art director. It is often the case that the artist is so focused on getting the graphic done on time, that how it fits on the page becomes secondary, which leads to big and boxy graphics. A little art direction and communication goes a long way, and dare I say "planning."
If the designer and artists aren't working together, most graphics will go inside, especially when papers are getting smaller. I've seen this happen at both very large and very small papers. The good news about small papers is graphics and page design are done by the same person or team of people.
I try to think of the page design and graphics as one entity. I design the whole package, headlines, story, photos, graphics, it all should be edited together. I've seen writers repeat in their lead the exact same thing that I'm illustrating in the graphic, so the story has to work with the design and graphics as well.
Its big picture editing.
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Chris Soprych
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