Billy Simkins, designer Prize: $1,000 and software from Quark
"…The newspaper with the best front design for March 2007 is The Bakersfield Californian for its wow factor – and more.
Some people call Bakersfield the design from "L," but there's no denying that every day this paper has more going on visually than almost every other paper in the U.S. The Californian knows how to turn even a ho-hum day into something special. It is never guilty of being dull – the cardinal sin most papers commit every day."
"The Californian had the best use of the Grand Canyon photo – and it had the best Grand Canyon headline: Grand new hangout."
"But the Californian didn't stop at the canyon's edge. It even managed to trump The Plain Dealer's otherwise big play on the Bush story, with a tighter crop and stronger headline."
The newspaper with the best front design today is The Kansas City Star for its above-the-fold presentation.
For years, editors have exhorted designers to put more elements above the fold to promote single-copy sales. Our research indicates that that strategy is counter-productive. Three story elements seems to be the optimum number for the typical day's news, and that's what KC did today.
Three elements make this page work: Eye-catching promo, clearly stated news story and highly relevant centerpiece focusing on the top driver of single-copy sales – a pocketbook issue. The Star employed an delightful play of scale to make this page even more engaging.
BFD FAQs Send an email direct to Brass Tacks Design. Click to see all the BFDs in the archives. A selection appears below.
2007 WORKSHOPS
API: New products NAA: Marketing
Wyoming Press Kentucky Press Minnesota Press New England Press NAA: Single-copy Inland: Classified New York Press API: Advertising
WCAA CLASSIFIED NEWSPAPER DESIGN
ONLINE NEWSPAPER DESIGN Read Steve Outing's interview with Alan Jacobson and learn why newspaper web sites are seriously flawed. Then see alternatives.
EDITORIAL, CLASSIFIED & ONLINE NEWSPAPER DESIGN Our redesigns are catalysts for positive change. Visit the gallery to see how we've transformed publications and websites. EDITORIAL NEWSPAPER DESIGN
NEWSPAPER DESIGN WHITEPAPER A redesign is a waste of time and money if it doesn't deliver a return on investment. Download our report to learn how to make your redesign pay off, then see how four newspapers boosted readership and revenue by following our advice. TARGETED PUBLICATIONS
INTERACTIVE TOUR See in detail how a content-driven redesign did more than make a community daily look better – it made it a better paper. RADICAL STRATEGIES FOR CIRCULATION WOES
The ISJ shows its passion for Pocatello by filling its fronts with faces – featuring five or more per front per day. You can't be too local and you can't run too many faces of local people, because everyone loves to hear these words: "I saw your picture in the paper." See the pages.
The Californian's redesign earned it a spot on Editor & Publisher's list of “Ten That Do it Right.” According to E&P, Bakersfield is appealing to its “really, really conservative market with a really, really radical redesign.”
And it’s working.
Circulation stops are down and revenue is up – over a thousand inches in the redesigned real estate section alone.
See before and after, see more pages and read the stories.
The Eureka (CA) Reporter was just a 6,000-circ. weekly in 2004. Our radical yet elegant redesign helped this startup weekly grow to a daily in less than two years. The Reporter goes head-to-head with an established daily owned by Dean Singleton, who told The San Francisco Chronicle last month that his competitor, “does some good design things.” The Society of News Design agrees – they cited this redesign as one of the best in the world. See more pages.
Do 6-column photos boost readership and revenue?>>
Who would have thought that TV books would lead to the end of newspapers as we know them?>>
Len Downie's memo calls for more emphasis on design.>>
Read our abbreviated version of API's report. It'll only take a minute and it's worth it.>>
See the charts that show why now is the time to redesign for revenue.>>
A practical, step-by-step approach with examples from newspapers large and small.>>
Learn from KnightRidder's mistakes at the Inky and the Merc.>>
This online redesign is not enough to please users and advertisers.>>
Design does matter to readers, but only if it's reader driven.>>
If newspaper markets are so different,
why do most papers look so much alike?>>
I wish you luck and offer some advice.>>
This overhyped trend is a non-starter for America.>>
We can make a difference, but not by chasing awards.>>
At stake is nothing less than newspapers as we know them.>>
A thousand awards a year? Gimme a break.>>
They never said higher RBS scores would sell more newspapers.>>
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