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ON THE BLOG: An updated entry confronts the editors who still have no concern with the financial side of things, and those who bristle at unconventional ad placement as a source of new revenue. HOME PAGE: www.ronreason.com, with links to redesign case studies in visuals and text. One of my predictions is already coming true: newspapers moving to a heavily templated design - that is, pre-formatted pages, including covers, plug-and-play with strictly placed briefs, pre-measured stories, pre-sized photos, whether local or wire, and possibly very strict pre-formatted advertising holes to accommodate it all. Gone will be the day of reinventing the design wheel with each edition. Smart formats, easy-to-learn (and navigate), will be at a premium. |
By Ron Reason This material may be recirculated with attribution, but is not to be republished or excerpted for publication without permission. Updated April 2010 The decision to redesign your newspaper is an important one. The process is complex and may be confusing to the uninitiated, and in a business climate of uncertainty, it's not a small decision for any news publication. Following are key questions I am often asked via e-mail or phone inquiries or in person at conferences or seminars; the answers reflect my views based on experience, and have been updated to keep up with a rapidly changing, and challenging, market.1. Why redesign? When Is it worth it? In my 20-plus years in news design, the answer to these questions have changed fundamentally. Formerly, a newspaper redesigned every 10 years or so, on average, to freshen up its look, but often prodded by new technology, a change in the dimensions of the newspaper, the adoption or upgrading of color, or (less often) a rethinking of the paper's content or audience. Now, print redesigns can happen every 18 months. The most common instigating factors include the following:
In addition, interest is growing in the following new category: the newspaper that moves to a heavily templated design - that is, pre-formatted pages, including covers, which plug-and-play with strictly placed briefs, pre-measured stories, pre-sized photos, whether local or wire, and possibly very strict pre-formatted advertising holes to accommodate it all. News design devotees will not like to hear this, as it suggests a diminished importance of art direction and possibly infographics, but the realities of budget and staffing cutbacks suggest these days are coming.
Regardless of what category your publication might fall under, heightened attention must be paid to the role of advertising in the design or redesign process, and in any solution that results. In past years, advertising was an afterthought, if present at all, in a redesign. Today this can be a fatal mistake. (Related blog post.)2. Should we hire a consultant? Is it possible to create change in-house? Some newspapers are able to carry out a redesign in-house. The argument is that they know the history, market, staff and mission of the paper more intimately than an outsider might. On the down side, an in-house team can also bring politics, preconceived notions, a lack of innovation, or historical baggage to the table. Further, they may not have all the skills needed for such a complex project. With staffing tight all over, even qualified in-house candidates may not have the time or energy. This is the No. 1 limitation in leading a project in-house.Ask yourself: Do we have someone on staff who is an expert in type, color, and page architecture? Does this person know our journalistic mission and understand news as well as the complexities of professional graphic design? ("Branding" your corporate identity across various media is one particular challenge.) And, perhaps most important, does this person have the time and leadership skills necessary to corral the energies of the staff in a complicated project like a redesign? The availability of time is important here: If your art director or news editor hasn't had time to maintain and enforce a consistent design up to this point, he or she may be so strapped for time that a redesign would be a burden. Also keep in mind that the creative skills required to manage the complicated redesign process are different from those required for running the paper's art department or design desk day-to-day. Going in-house is not an entirely cost-free way of doing things. The weeks of salary of the person taken off-line are real costs; if their prototypes ending up stalling on the tracks, or being junked along the way (I've seen both), these are losses. A good consultant can provide a quick, cost-effective solution to get your new design up and running, efficiently, and present a new or freshened product to readers and advertisers quickly. A growing trend among papers in larger markets: hiring a qualified consultant on a limited basis, for what I call the "over the shoulder" consultation. The bulk of the work is done in-house, but the consultant comes in for a day or a week for intense backseat driving. (Some of this work can also be done from afar, but things can slow down without face to face interactions.) 3. What should we look for in a consultant? Forget the artiste. Today you must have someone who understands design aesthetics, but also, deals with the business side in an aggressive way. I often speak with advertising, marketing and circulation managers before even being selected for a job, and then insist on including them in the process once a project begins - and collaborating with them throughout. No prototypes begin without input from these teams. They play a heavy role in focus groups. New ideas may even be taken out to advertisers (current, lost, or potential) to gauge their impact. The days of redesigns driven only by the newsroom are in the past.
Make sure to look for a good "fit" when talking to design consultants. This person should be a collaborator, working to develop a look that is just right for your paper, so it is important that this person will really click with your staff (not just the graphics staff but the copy desk, pressroom, marketing department and board room). A good consultant will seek to understand your market and the mission of your paper, and his or her skills should be appropriate for the goals of your project. For example, in the "complete redesign," I spend quite a lot of time looking at staff structures, training issues, work flow, creativity, allocation of resources, and planning and coordination that goes into the production process. These factors will greatly influence the type of design that should be created for your paper, and not all consultants are interested in addressing them. One important consideration: Ask whether your newsroom needs a consultant who is trained and experienced as a journalist, as a designer/art director, or both. (I have a journalism degree and have taught at one of the nation's top graphic design colleges as well.) Not everyone has all these skills, as well as the "people skills" and diplomacy that may be needed to maneuver quickly within your organization. Last but not least, when hiring help from outside, ask for references. Feel free to use the preceding paragraphs to shape the questions you ask them. 4. What will the right consultant do for us? The right person will thoroughly analyze your project, looking at it from different angles, and engage you in a rich conversation. Then he or she will propose a variety of services, which may include but not be limited to the following. These are among services I have performed in recent redesign projects; some projects have incorporated nearly all these services, and others, just one or two:
Not every newspaper needs all these services. But review the above list and ask how many of these might be appropriate for your situation. And in considering whether to bring in an outsider, ask yourself, "do we have the time, energy, and expertise to do all this in-house?" 5. How long should a redesign take? Depends on the size of the publication, the abilities of your staff, whether training in the crafts of design or journalism or web integration are part of the project, and other factors - technology, page size, adoption of new content, etc. Regardless, a complete redesign that used to take 9 months to two years, is now being done in three months or even less. (Thank goodness!) Taking any more time than this can create a drag on creativity and innovation. A "design tweak," in a nimble newsroom, might even take place in a week or two. 6. How much does a redesign cost, anyway? Cost is a big question, to which answers will vary widely (and wildly). Many publishers find the costs reasonable considering the above factors, weighed against the depth of change they wish to create. I am happy to provide cost estimates for qualified inquiries if you provide suitable background information on your project (please inquire). I often ask for papers and/or PDFs to be sent for my review. Some newspapers also need to license new typefaces, which entails additional costs. And as one might imagine, professional fees across the board are not as high as they used to be, partly because of economic factors but also because the process has become quicker and more efficient in recent years.[If you have questions other than those on this list, feel free to email ron@ronreason.com and I'll try to answer as best as I can. Your question may even be added to the list, or help me clarify one of the answers given above.] Updated January 2010, Ron Reason, ron@ronreason.com. Not to be republished without permission or recirculated without attribution. Back to top of page |
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