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Articles index. Home page: www.ronreason.com, with links to redesign case studies in visuals and text. One additional category that I predict will arise in the next few years: the newspaper that moves 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.		By Ron Reason This material may be recirculated with attribution, but is not to be republished or excerpted for publication without permission. Updated June 2007 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. 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 changing 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. Almost always underlying the redesign mission was a desire, stated or not, to boost circulation, stem the tide of declining circulation, or lure younger readers back to the paper. Unfortunately, there is very little evidence that redesigns have done this. When I hear newspapers or consultants citing a redesign as having boosted circulation or revenue, I always am skeptical that perhaps a marketing campaign, change in ad rates, altered distribution or pricing strategy, or some other factor may have been more of a critical influence than a change in design. My current philosophy is that it makes sense to redesign printed news products, and to consider hiring the expertise of a consultant, when your motivations fall under one of the following four basic groups: THE LAUNCH of a new publication, where you want to make a splash in a perhaps crowded marketplace, impress potential investors and advertisers, or hit the ground running with an efficient, clean, unique looking product. (One current client is finding success in showing my prototypes for a new business publication to investors.) CHANGE IN FORMAT or a major rethinking of the sequencing or sectioning of your publication. (I have converted broadsheets to tabloid in San Francisco, Dubai, and elsewhere.) NICHE PUBLICATIONS that are dramatically refocusing mission or content, perhaps including a bolder integration with online or an expansion of advertising opportunities. (My extensive success with the Crain family of trade publications, including Advertising Age and Crain's Chicago Business, is an example of this. I also have worked with other trade publications as well as the ethnic and spiritual press.) COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS, such as weeklies or families of smaller papers, moving forward with a more professional appearance, streamlining production processes to ease the burden on smaller staffs, and rebranding to create new appeal for advertisers. (East Bay Newspapers in Rhode Island and the Sound Publishing group in Washington are examples of small weekly chains that grew partly due to redesigning and rethinking.) One additional category that I predict will arise in the next few years: 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, the day is long gone for hoping that old-school redesign - relying on new fonts and colors and logos - will have much if any significant appeal to readers or advertisers. 2. Why hire a consultant? Why not just 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. 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. Keep in mind that 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. 3. What should we look for in a consultant? Make sure to look for a good "fit" when talking to design consultants. This person will 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, 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. A good consultant will really push and challenge the ideas of management and staff in a way that an in-house team likely may not, questioning even the age-old myths that may dictate how you design the paper. He or she will supplement and complement, and not necessarily replace, the design talent that does exist. If you are seeking a fresh eye on your newsroom, this may be the way to go. 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 schools as well.) Not everyone has all these skills, as well as the "people skills" and diplomacy that may be needed to maneuver within your organization. 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: Establishment of redesign timetable, tasks, mission statement, and project management strategy. Exploration of typography, color and architecture options for a new design, via the development of prototypes and on-site collaboration with the newspaper's staff. This should involve close communication with the newspaper's managers as they consider current and proposed content, as well as editors and designers who ultimately will have to live with and produce the design on a daily basis. Presentation (and articulation!) of design options to managers and staff during on-site visits; for startup publications, perhaps preparing pitch materials (Powerpoint, etc) to potential investors or advertisers, or creating auxiliary branding materials such as business cards or web design. Assessment of staff skills and development of custom training sessions, in collaboration with the newsroom redesign coordinator. Specification of needs for a design style guide, writing the philosophies portion of the guide, and collaboration with the newsroom redesign coordinator on its development and completion - the nuts and bolts relating to technical coding, for example. Art direction of "live" sections during on-site visits - this is a teaching opportunity that works well to educate the staff - as well as critiquing and coaching of actual page designs before, during and after production. Observation of newsroom processes and communications, including attending planning and production meetings, resulting in consultation with management about ways to foster better teamwork. Analysis of resource and staff allocation, possibly leading to advice on future restructuring, recruiting and/or hiring. Training and coaching of newsroom design leaders while on-site, and collaboration via phone, fax and e-mail throughout the redesign process. 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, what used to take 9 months to two years, is now being done in three months or less. Taking any more time than this can create a drag on creativity and innovation. 6. How much does a redesign cost, anyway? Cost is a big question, to which answers will vary widely (and wildly). I am happy to provide cost estimates for qualified inquiries if you provide the following information: circulation of the paper, pagination platform, launch timetable, the ability of the in-house team to carry part of the work load, the number of different sections or products to be addressed, the desire for training. Some newspapers also see a need to license new typefaces, which can range from $500 to several thousand and up (depending on whether customized type work is desired, which I rarely recommend for mainstream newspapers). [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 and © 2007, Ron Reason, ron@ronreason.com. Not to be republished without permission or recirculated without attribution. Back to top of page
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