WHY REDESIGN?MORE THAN PRETTY: RETHINKING THE ROLE OF YOUR PUBLICATION

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH?

Take a minute to answer the following:

• What do your readers think about your publication?

• What do you want your publication to be? How would you want your readers to describe it?

• Describe your reader. How do they read?

• What news sources do your readers currently enjoy (twitter, yahoo news, magazines, newspapers, etc.) How can you incorporate the success of these “news sources” into your publication?

• How do you merge these lists?

REDESIGN MEANS:

Rethinking your content and design strategies

It DOESN’T mean JUST making your publications LOOK PRETTY

Start with WHY your redesigning, then think about HOW to redesign

CONTENT MUST COME FIRST!

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTIONYour content should be the MOST important part of your publication!

So…

• Think about how you are telling stories now (features, hard news, editorials, etc.)

• How can that be better based on how your readers read (think twitter, yahoo news, YouTube, instagram, magazine bullets/ quizzes, alternative coverage, etc.)?

• Visuals- think info graphics!!!!!!• “chunking”- think lists, stats, small, short bio boxes, etc.• Shorter stories/ Broken-up stories- think long captions, bios.

ALTERNATIVE COVERAGE!!!!

All of those “new” forms of story telling: visuals, chunking, shorter stories, equal….

MORE ALTERNATIVE COVERAGE

Great examples of alternative coverage in the form of info graphics can be found at http://www.visual.ly.com

TAKE A FEW MINUTES…

What, if any, alternative coverage or packaging techniques are you currently incorporating into your publication?

Are they successful? Why or why not? What can you do to make them more successful?

INFO GRAPHIC EXAMPLES:STEVE JOBS

INFO GRAPHIC

HALLOWEEN COSTUME

INFO GRAPHIC

THE BOTTOM LINE:

YES! We want our redesigned publication to be visually pleasing! BUT most importantly we MUST rethink the way we are presenting our content!

TAKE A COUPLE MINUTES…

What is one unique way you could present content in your newspaper next year?

How could you incorporate this idea into your redesign strategy?

THE PROFESSIONALS

High School newspapers are not the only publications who look to redesign themselves- professional papers do it too.

As with high school papers, professionals seek to not only change their look but also create a publication that is more reader oriented and attractive.

A SUCCESSFUL REDESIGN = INCREASED READERSHIP

The Kansas City Star before its 2009 redesign. The Star looked to add multiple forms of alternative coverage presented in more fun, easy to read packaging.

Each section was color-coded to help ease navigation. Graphics were incorporated throughout to enhance the overall look of the paper and help draw the viewers’ eyes. EVERYTHING in their redesign was done with the readers in mind.

KANSAS CITY STAR REDESIGN

KANSAS CITY STAR REDESIGN

KANSAS CITY STAR REDESIGN

KANSAS CITY STAR REDESIGN

KANSAS CITY STAR REDESIGN

KANSAS CITY STAR REDESIGN

The Oklahoman before its 2008 redesign.

The Oklahoman created a more cohesive, easy to understand color palette for their paper. The paper also packaged all stories and content in a simple, easy to follow grid format. The new design relies on eye lines to help focus the readers’ attention.

THE OKLAHOMAN REDESIGN

THE OKLAHOMAN REDESIGN

THE OKLAHOMAN REDESIGN

The Chicago Tribune before its 2008 redesign.

The new Tribune uses eye lines and dominance to help direct the readers’ attention to the content. Color was also used as a way of organizing the paper by section.

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE REDESIGN

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE REDESIGN

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE REDESIGN

YOUR TURN- PACEMAKER REDESIGNS

In groups of 2-3 look at the following links (each links you to a 2011 Pacemaker Newspaper). Choose two (or three) papers to critique:

http://issuu.com/granitebaygazette/docs/vol14issue8

http://issuu.com/fhnpublications/docs/aprilnorthstar2012/48

http://issuu.com/davidwinteratl/docs/the_southerner__henry_w_grady_hs__issue_4_early_ed

http://issuu.com/ecollegian/docs/11.08.11

http://issuu.com/crwashsurveyor/docs/crwashsurveyormay2012

http://issuu.com/mitcheden/docs/the_kirkwood_call__issue_7

http://issuu.com/fhcpublications/docs/feb2011

http://issuu.com/smtexas/docs/may_2012

http://issuu.com/op86/docs/7.20_issue

http://issuu.com/rochestertalon/docs/march_talon_2011

http://issuu.com/hilite/docs/8.9_issue

SOURCES:

www.visual.ly.com

http://kellyfrankeny.blogspot.com/2009/01/express-times.html

http://laurenmichell.com/2008/10/update-chicago-tribune-redesigns-drops-trib-rumor/