Toronto Star redesigns

The redesigned Toronto Star hit the streets today, with a cleaner look, larger body type and a pared-down selection of sections. Gone is the distinctive blue ribbon behind the flag (replaced by a smaller one just above) and soon to be gone is another inch in width as the paper gradually shrinks to 11.5 x 22 inches by October. The paper's local section has been rolled into the main A section and the various lifestyles sections (Food, Fashion) have been rolled into one section, titled "Living." Thestar.com also got a minor tweak and clean-up.

Body type is custom-designed Torstar Text, set at 10.25 points on 11 points of leading. Read more about the changes in their on-line readers guide.
Editor-in-chief J. Fred Kuntz promises:

• A renewed emphasis on local coverage. We are dedicating most of the A section to news from the Greater Toronto Area.
  A new World & Comment section.


• Simpler and clearer naming of sections. For example, it's Living six days a week, instead of I.D. or Food or Fashion or Health or Shopping. And it's Entertainment instead of Buzz or Movies or What's On.


• Don't get us wrong ‚Äì changing section names does not mean dropping content. We still continue to bring you topnotch coverage of food and fashion and health. It's all there in Living.


• And on Saturdays, the Weekend Living section will be wide-ranging, with more pages and all of the great content that was in the former Life and Shopping sections.

No response from readers yet posted on-line, but feel free to have at it here.