Making something out of nothing
It's all about saving the day, well, the newspaper, when it's 10p.m. and you've got nothing. Napo Monasterio of the Birmingham News's workshop called Visual Shortcuts: Making Something Out of Nothing shared a bunch of exciting tips on how to save the day. He started with creating to executing to selling your concept for a story that may not necessarily be able to be captured just through a single photo and text.
He included the most basic tip that almost everyone has mentioned: content, content, content. Content really is most important when is comes to design. Nobody's going to pick up and continue reading a newspaper ONLY because it looks good. A reader can's READ a design.
Designers should aim for accuracy, simplicity adn getting the right one. That is, you must make sure you get your design from the story - NOT the other way around. The first step is to read the story, then brainstorm KEYWORDS. It is only after you and whoever you're working with have come up with a concrete concept and idea that you should put it on paper and show it to the editor. Three designers running into the editor's office with an idea isn't going to count for anything if you haven't already put it on paper because if everyone was a visual person, we'd ALL be designers.
Monasterio also mentioned a few tools of the trade: scanner, photo studio, stock photos, file art, illustrations and type. Each tool, of course, has its pros and cons. Type, for example, is awesome and creates motion-driven pages. But at the same time, can be easily overdone because a lot of the time, designers will use type as a last resort when nothing else comes around. File photos can also be great because your staff actually took the photo but you MUST be careful about the context of the photo.
After that, he shared 4 case studies. Where he went through the entire process he and the other designers went through before coming up with the publlished page. It started with reading the story to brainstorming, thinking outside the box, keeping designs as simple as possible and creating a peaceful marriage between words and visuals.
But in the end, the only way to create real good pages is to cooperate and work with other members of your newsroom. Being assertive and coming up with your own ideas is key. Being able to explain and defend your concept is best and you have to always be willing to compromise, especially if your paper isn't used to conceptual ideas and thinking beyond everyday photo headline text.
He included the most basic tip that almost everyone has mentioned: content, content, content. Content really is most important when is comes to design. Nobody's going to pick up and continue reading a newspaper ONLY because it looks good. A reader can's READ a design.
Designers should aim for accuracy, simplicity adn getting the right one. That is, you must make sure you get your design from the story - NOT the other way around. The first step is to read the story, then brainstorm KEYWORDS. It is only after you and whoever you're working with have come up with a concrete concept and idea that you should put it on paper and show it to the editor. Three designers running into the editor's office with an idea isn't going to count for anything if you haven't already put it on paper because if everyone was a visual person, we'd ALL be designers.
Monasterio also mentioned a few tools of the trade: scanner, photo studio, stock photos, file art, illustrations and type. Each tool, of course, has its pros and cons. Type, for example, is awesome and creates motion-driven pages. But at the same time, can be easily overdone because a lot of the time, designers will use type as a last resort when nothing else comes around. File photos can also be great because your staff actually took the photo but you MUST be careful about the context of the photo.
After that, he shared 4 case studies. Where he went through the entire process he and the other designers went through before coming up with the publlished page. It started with reading the story to brainstorming, thinking outside the box, keeping designs as simple as possible and creating a peaceful marriage between words and visuals.
But in the end, the only way to create real good pages is to cooperate and work with other members of your newsroom. Being assertive and coming up with your own ideas is key. Being able to explain and defend your concept is best and you have to always be willing to compromise, especially if your paper isn't used to conceptual ideas and thinking beyond everyday photo headline text.
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