  Six Reasons ... ... TO CONSIDER ON-SITE SKILLS TRAINING FOR YOUR DESIGN STAFF | |||
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"Design management: Why does it seem to be so hard?" Articles index. Home page: www.ronreason.com Even if you think you are a consistent "A" newspaper, the right outside trainer will suggest ways to bring you up to "A+." |
By Ron Reason Not to be republished without permission or recirculated without attribution. A redesign itself doesn't guarantee that your newsroom will communicate more effectively, or that your illustrations or packaging will be more creative. And while your crack art director may run the show sufficiently day-to-day, he or she may not have the right talents (or the time) to conduct the skills improvement training your design and editing staff needs. When contemplating a formal training program, newsrooms should consider that a qualified design trainer ...
1) ... allows many from throughout the staff to hear important
messages at the same time - writers and photographers as well as
designers and editors. Long after a good trainer has gone, the staff
will refer back to the training dialogue, and to visual examples
used, as common points of reference.
2) ... provides a forum for everyone to talk back, to listen, and to
better understand newsroom personalities and processes, which
encourage or inhibit good design. The right dialogue on design leads
to clarity about related internal issues such as management, turf,
job descriptions, communication and collaboration, often issues that
those inside the paper may not want to touch. (Caution! Your trainer
may need credentials from the United Nations!)
3) ... compensates for the often incomplete schooling of journalism
graduates on the staff and allows them to consider design truths
they may never have learned. Especially at small or medium
newspapers, many layout editors have been more thoroughly trained in
writing, editing and perhaps ethics, rather than design, type, color
and art direction.
4) ... customizes training for the larger newspaper to focus on
areas such as advanced art direction, creativity, or the design of
special projects. At larger papers especially, a talented but
entrenched staff may need a kick in the pants, which the right
trainer can provide.
5) ... works one-on-one with your art director, graphics editor or
other design managers (or all in combination) to improve their own
leadership, planning, and design and art direction skills, thus
having a greater long-term effect on the staff.
6) ... takes a cold, critical eye to everything you do, and offers
constructive critiques, in individual or group settings. Even if you
think you are a consistent "A" newspaper, the right outside trainer
will suggest ways to bring you up to "A+."Author's note: A version of this article was originally commissioned for ''Picas and Pixels,'' the newsletter of Mario Garcia New Media Design International. To be on the mailing list for this newsletter, contact numedia@packet.net. © 2006, Ron Reason. Not to be republished without permission or recirculated without attribution. Back to top of page |
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Updated: January 2006. design@ronreason.com
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