Recession guide

From Sajeev’s newspaper designing, the Chicago Tribune has been publishing a series of great recession-based articles. What caught my eye, however, was the great photo illustrations.
Particularly, this one:

On that note, I’d just like to say that I am at a point where I think the new Trib design beats the old. I had started out really disliking it, mostly due to the first few issues going way overboard on the flashy, sensational packages. Meanwhile my favorite part of the old design was how clean and unsensational it was — one of the few understated U.S. papers around. However, they’ve toned down their use of sans headlines and started using more of that egyptian type.

That said, the new nameplate is still god awful. If this wasn’t the Tribune, we’d be telling them to stop going overboard on the photoshop (bevel, stroke, drop shadow all in one!).

Ick.

Filed under: Newspapers , Newspapers, Print

Inaugruation day

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Round up

• Charles Apple rounds them up
• Apple analyzes pages the day after inauguration
• Robb Montgomery gives a more international look

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NY Times interactive

This and this are the type of interactive pieces newspapers should be doing. With our (still) large staffs, this kind of “story” is what will separate us from the standard news blog. For a paper that gets flack for being “stuck in their ways,” The New York Times consistently sets itself ahead of the American news media with pieces like this. Keep it up.

Filed under: Uncategorized , Interactives, Newspapers, Print, Web

The Trib goes tab (updated)

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Update: How they’re handling the work load

Charles Apple profiles the 4 new Trib designers

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Round up

• The Tribune’s letter to its readers
• SND talks to Steve Cavindish
• Editor and Publisher gives a review
• A couple of videos about the new format
• Ron Reason interviews the Trib’s Associate Editor
• The business benefits of the new format
• Charles Apple’s take

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My Thoughts

I like the new attitude the Chicago Tribune has started taking on. This is design with purpose. The reviews seem positive and the paper is giving readers what they want. I’m still a bit puzzled how they are handling this with recent staff cuts, but that’s their issue and not mine. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, this  addresses half of the Trib’s problems. Their website is in a severe need of an update. Videos are weak, navigation is a struggle, and outside content is nearly non-existent. Contrast this to the attitude of the New York Times who have headed directly into the online fray.

As much as I love print design (seriously, this industry downturn has produced so much redesign crack that I’m considering rehab), this reformatting is only a temporary bandage on a gaping wound. I’ll save the details for a future post, but newspapers should be taking over the online space, not sitting on the sidelines. We have companies with millions of dollars — for now, anyway — losing millions of visitors to sites like Digg, Reddit, Delicious, and even The Huffington Post. These sites prove that people still like reading the news — they just don’t take it in the same way.

So, great job, Chicago: You have made your print product more relevant. Now take this attitude to the web.

Filed under: Newspapers , Newspapers, Print, Tabloid, Web