Thou Shalt Use Good Design

Tracy Collins, senior director of operations at The Arizona Republic, supervises the paper’s design, photo/video, graphics, technology, copy and wire desk. When designing a paper, he suggests “make it easy for the people to read, they will read it more.” Collins emphasizes the importance of hierarchy, “be my sherpa” and lead me thru the page. You want to lead the reader to the top of the news mountain. It is important to pay attention to body type and headline type; they should contrast and not conflict.  Follow a grid and don’t try to reinvent the wheel on every issue. Use color carefully and wisely. It is all about developing creative story telling, not window dressing. On this same concept I always remind my students that a good layout consists of designing a page, not decorating it.

A Rosenthal

The Hockaday School

Dallas, Tx

                                                                

                                                                                                       The Arizona Republic - June 18, 2009