Another redesign thread

[ColbertNation]

Our paper's doing a total redesign, and they want to have it implemented by Nov. 1. This will involve content, layout, fonts, masthead ... the whole shebang.
Just looking for some pointers for those of you who have gone through something similar. I have a list of ideas that I'm working on, but I'm always open to more ideas.
More specifically, they caught my ear when they mentioned fonts. Our heds are Times and Helvetica, and our typeface is Corona. I'm wondering what some of you who have gone through redesigns have had success with when it comes to fonts.
Again, any thoughts and/or suggestions would be appreciated here.

 

[dixiehack]

You (the collective you) have two months to entirely redo the paper, they're shoving the responsibility onto the mainline staff with presumably no relief from regular desk shifts, and they want the thing fired up the Saturday before election day? Holy ****.

 

[whatwoulddamondo?]

we have benton sans fonts for heads and miller text for text. some chains are hopping on that bandwagon.

 

[forever_town]

I think shoving a total redesign down readers' throats is a terrible idea. Be prepared for people complaining, cancelling subscriptions, etc. People don't like dramatic changes to "the paper."

I've implemented design changes over the course of time I've been at my shop. All have come gradually.

 

[SportsGuyBCK]

Our paper's doing a total redesign, and they want to have it implemented by Nov. 1. This will involve content, layout, fonts, masthead ... the whole shebang.
Just looking for some pointers for those of you who have gone through something similar. I have a list of ideas that I'm working on, but I'm always open to more ideas.
More specifically, they caught my ear when they mentioned fonts. Our heds are Times and Helvetica, and our typeface is Corona. I'm wondering what some of you who have gone through redesigns have had success with when it comes to fonts.
Again, any thoughts and/or suggestions would be appreciated here.

I would suggest that if you're going to do a complete redesign, then implement the changes slowly, just to minimize the impact on your readers (you would be surprised how many will complain if you drop all the changes on the readership all at once) ... I once worked at a major daily (250,000+ circulation) that spread things out over several months (new headline font one week, new body type a few weeks later, new masthead design a few weeks after that, etc.) and had less than a dozen complaints ...

 

[forever_town]

GMTA, SportsGuyBCK.

I haven't drastically redesigned my paper, but I've implemented a few changes gradually. It looks slightly different and (I hope) a little better.

 

[SportsGuyBCK]

I couldn't agree more, f_t ...

I've been on both sides of redesigns -- the slow way, which I prefer, and the "dump it on the unwashed masses" way, which (except in rare circumstances) is insulting to your readers ...

 

[shotglass]

Well, if you've got to do it, maybe Helvetica's out of style, but it will make your job a little easier.

You won't have to convert AP graphics for fonts. That can be a big time-saver.

That is, if you tend to use AP graphics.

 

[Blair Waldorf]

Interstate is an easy substitute for Helvetica, and it's family is very diverse.
Go with one serif family for all headlines. Madison is a good one.

An easier fix would be to use Corona Bold for your headline font and use Interstate as your body font. You can scale regular-use Interstate back so it takes up less space vertically and horizontally than all serif fonts, allowing you to get more body copy on a page than before.

 

[Blair Waldorf]

Also - don't know if you visit Linotype much, but their Form Finder tool is pretty fun, if you're a font geek that likes to be a little hands-on with how your letters should look:

http://www.linotype.com/formfinder.html

 

[ColbertNation]

Also - don't know if you visit Linotype much, but their Form Finder tool is pretty fun, if you're a font geek that likes to be a little hands-on with how your letters should look:

http://www.linotype.com/formfinder.html

Blair
Yes I am a font nerd, and thanks for the link.

 

[ColbertNation]

Well, apparently the re-design has been re-thought. I'm thinking that the EE got a little antsy with all of the suggestions he was getting, so now he's doing it himself, and he's just playing with the fonts.
All I can say is that was a close one. For a while there, it looked like someone might actually ask for my input and have it count for something. Something comfortable about my suggestions being totally ignored. Ahh, the status quo.
Rant over.

 

[whatwoulddamondo?]

are you at a gatehouse paper? they seem to be using the same fonts packages, except with a little tweaking, in a good deal of their redesigns. so there may be a reason why your "input" is being sidelined.

 

[ColbertNation]

are you at a gatehouse paper? they seem to be using the same fonts packages, except with a little tweaking, in a good deal of their redesigns. so there may be a reason why your "input" is being sidelined.

My point being that changing fonts alone does not make it a redesign. And it's not just my input being ignored. People with a lot more time in than I have were also told 'thanks, but no thanks.' But I hear what you're saying. He may have been told that a few font changes were all he was allowed to make, so why bother making a big production out of it anymore.

 

[dixiehack]

Well, if you've got to do it, maybe Helvetica's out of style, but it will make your job a little easier.

It will no such thing if you have to use it for headlines above 36 pt. Damn, I don't miss that at all.