Today's OC Post was buggin'. The Kansas City Star hotdogged. The Sun News was all ear.

The San Francisco Chronicle couldn't clear the air with this lame-ass photo-illo. Did they actually pay someone to take this picture?

In contrast, the Rocky had a rockin' spot news photo – now that's photography. Tbt had a great news photo, too. And speaking of photography, check out RedEye. Hubba-hubba.

The Pioneer Press put its classifieds on the front page.

The Monitor's redesign took a detour past Bakersfield, asked Fred Flintsone for directions to the International House of a Thousand Fonts – What's that sans called? Bedrock? – then planted some weeds in the "O" of its nameplate. If it wasn't derivative, it'd be uniquely awkward.

The Monitor would have been better-served by a full-sized Redesign, rather than a Redesign, Jr. I don't think we'll see this touted as good design on anyone's site – even the company responsible for it.

But ultimately, it doesn't matter who designed this paper. Any designer worth his or her pica pole can see that this page is a mess because it is lacking in basic, undeniable design principles.

Here's some free advice for The Monitor:

a) Start with some quality fonts, not a trendy sans that will seem dated in no time. Remember Nehru jackets?

b) Pay attention to letterspacing – You could drive a truck between the letters of the word "H O P E." All the serif type is poorly spaced.

c) Ask yourself why there is one rounded box at the top of the digest items. It looks like a tombstone.

d) Pay attention to image size in photos. Most faces on this page have no impact because they're the size of a pea – especially the lead photo.

e) Stick to a grid. This page suffers because its elements are thrown together like a pile of rubble. As in Barney Rubble.

f) Make everything line up with something else. This excellent advice comes from Roger Black. Unfortunately, this most basic of design principles is not part of this design – even the cutline on the lead photo doesn't line up with the photo it describes.

g) Don't use two rules when one will do. The bottom of the open shadow box beneath the centerpiece is unnecessary. White space would provide separation without adding noise.

h) Don't mess with Texas. Weeds obscuring the Lone Star State's flag? Mercy!

If anyone thinks this is a quality redesign, they should stand up and say so, or offer more ways to fix it.

But as poorly handled as it is, it's still better than all the boring front pages. But are those the only choices for a redesign – ugly, derivative or dull?

The newspaper with the best front design today is The Virginian-Pilot.

For those who complain that the Pilot appears here too often, answer this question: When was the last time your paper used images and headline typography this way above the fold? The Pilot is remarkable because it is different more often than any paper in the U.S.A. Can anyone dispute that?

Author's note: It's time for me to apologize to the thousands of you who visit this site each day to read my critique – sometimes arguing vigorously for and against my comments – for failing to post more often.

I've enjoyed reading your comments more than I could have imagined. These comments have become an integral part of the site, and I am grateful for all of them – even those of Robert Knilands, a.k.a Wenalway.

Many of you have told me how much you have learned from the exchange of comments and my drum-beating for change, but mostly, looking forward each day to see who designed the best front page…and who could have done better.

Recently, I have been unable to complete my daily posts because of other overwhelming business demands. As a result, it has become impossible to critique pages with the frequency I began and that you had grown accustomed to.

But there is a silver lining.

During the course of BFD there has been one voice that seemed to show the reason and logic necessary to not only produce fine design, but to explain through his comments, the "why" that will let others learn how to make their pages better. His name is Nick Masuda. Nick will be taking the lead on BFD sometime in October after he completes his move from Maine to Florida.


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