Archive for the ‘Commentary’ Category
Storify: Comments, reactions to SND33 (aka: #shitfacilitatorssay)
Monday, February 6th, 2012
Collecting the comments from Syracuse University during the competition weekend.
An expansive definition of design
Sunday, January 1st, 2012
What do we mean when we talk about design? Seems like a good question as we start a new year. Journalist friends answer in different ways, yet their responses always appear — in my mind’s eye, at least — too tied to their lives at whatever media organization they work for, the print or online
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OPINION: Hopeful reactions to serious disaster coverage
Monday, February 7th, 2011
The world witnessed many catastrophes over the course of 2010 — from the horrors of the magnitude 7.1 quake in northwest China to the saga of the trapped miners in Chile. After looking at hundreds of entries about natural disasters, our judges and facilitators shared a few that touched them.
Looking beyond trends
Friday, September 24th, 2010
Trends are not sustainable solutions and they certainly don’t solve problems at their roots. This morning, I sat down to chat about interaction design and news trends with Jeremy and Jessica Gilbert at the Medill School of Journalism in at Northwestern University and Jennifer George-Palilonis, SND’s Society for News Design Education Director. It would have
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An open letter on the value of Design
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
Updated: Gannett responds to SND’s President. Like many of our colleagues, we read with concern this week’s announcement of Gannett’s plans for regional hubs to build pages for many of their newspapers. This plan is similar to others that have sought to template publications and centralize parts of the creative and production process, or, in some extreme cases, eliminate design and graphics departments.
We all are looking for ways to eliminate inefficiencies to ensure a future for newspapers. However, as leaders of the Society for News Design, we would like to challenge some assumptions at the core of this (and similar) plans, as well as offer some ideas to consider at this critical time — a time when there is a need for relevancy, re-invention and creative solutions. Continue »
Total football
Monday, July 12th, 2010
The World Cup is in the books (¡Viva España!) but there are lessons still to be learned. Luis Chumpitaz, Information Graphics Editor at Dubai Media Incorporated, describes the conception of a 48-page special supplement previewing the World Cup. The design work coming from the Middle East is unlike anything created elsewhere in the world. Luis
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Losing the Plot
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
![Chart[1]](http://www.snd.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Chart1-60x60.png "Chart[1]")
Charts that actually work can be hard to find. John Grimwade is worried about the craft of understanding and presenting data being lost under an avalanche of infographic over-enthusiasm.
Should news and views be separated?
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010
A REVIEW OF THE INDEPENDENT’S NEW APPROACH
Dividing a publication into ”news” and ”views” to send a clear signal to the reader is definitely an appealing idea. Unfortunately, the reality of the scheme has proven difficult for The Independent’s and editor-in-chief Simon Kelner.
A1 as a marketing tool
Monday, May 17th, 2010
Marketer or journalist? As a front-page designer, sometimes it’s good to think like both. If you use your front page to market your stories better, your journalism will reach more people.
After months of research at The Roanoke (Va.) Times, designer Carrie Cousins shares ideas for better marketing on A1:
Dishing on World’s Best: What does it really mean
Monday, May 3rd, 2010
Just the other night, NOMA, of Copenhagen, was selected the World’s Best Restaurant. The year before, Noma finished third in the same competition but now I can comfort myself with the knowledge that if I wish to taste the best food in the world, the only thing I’ll need is a metro ticket plus a lot of patience and a month’s salary …
Reaching the level of “World’s Best,” for a restaurant or a newspaper, must take years and lots of hard work, and once you are there, you do not just lose all those qualities in twelve months. How come the Society’s competition doesn’t seem to work this way?
Community newspaper design: Southwest Florida Gems
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
Our community newspaper design columnist Donna Davidson shares the six rules she’s developed for sorting through hundreds of photos each week, looking for the jewels … the ones that take her breath away. She’s currently designing a weekly community-rich long tab called the Punta Gorda Herald. It is name-and-photo centric.
The envelope, please…
Friday, March 5th, 2010
Movie fronts are all about voice. Your challenge is to capture the tone of the movie, using color, scale, typography, and the same handout images that every other designer in the world is staring at. How do you use a flat page and your wits to capture a motion picture? Here’s how some newspapers played the Best Picture nominees when they first appeared.
iStock, therefore I am
Monday, March 1st, 2010
Stock art, once a synonym for lazy design and designers, seems to be everywhere, often used in smart and surprising ways. What explains the recent resurgence?
Haiti’s disaster: Regarding the pain of others
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
Tell the truth. Bear witness. Explain. Connect. As visual journalists, these abstract ideas never seem more real than when we’re confronted with the unreality of a disaster on the scale of the earthquake in Haiti and its aftermath.
El poder de las infografías está por venir [Spanish]
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
By Cristián Bego, Universidad del Desarrollo/SND
Iniciando las charlas del segundo día, John Grimwade dejó la vara alta para los siguientes expositores que le seguirían. Y es que el británico entregó una cátedra de infografías y su futuro a las cerca de 100 personas que disfrutaron de los consejos del experimentado.
On being laid off: ‘Nothing stays the same’
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
Editor’s note: This essay is published in the next issue of Design, which will be mailed to Society for News Design members this spring. The new double issue, “Hitting the reset button,” helps you reboot your career, your soul, your creativity and your journalistic moxie as the industry faces epic transition. ‘Hello, this is the
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