Design an Effective Newspaper or Newsletter

A basic overview about how to lay out a good-looking, well-structured page using desktop publishing software. A primer on information architecture, layering and all the other things that will help people read the words you put on the page. This is not a how-to on using desktop publishing software.

Steps

  1. Open a desktop publishing program. Quark XPress, Microsoft Publisher, and Adobe InDesign are the most popular and professional but there are free alternatives such as Scribus and even word processors such as Use OpenOffice Writer. Are you on a broadsheet or a tabloid? Or an 8 1/2 x 11? Good news is, design principles apply to every page size. There are some small differences, but not many.
  2. Organize. Plan your content. What is the most important story? The next? The next after that?
  3. Consider your "art."
  4. Know -- and use -- a grid. 5 columns. 6 columns. 4 columns. Mind you, a 10 column grid is really a 5 column grid that allows for 1/2 columns, and a 12 column grid is 6 columns with 1/2 column slots. 1/2 columns can be useful for running information boxes, mug shots, etc.
  5. Keep the design on the grid. What does this mean? For example, on a 6 column grid, run a story over 3 columns and another story over 2 and a story over 1.
  6. Create a dominant headline. Consider 60pt, even 70pt, but probably no less than 52pt for the most important story. The hierarchy of story headlines should be at least 6pt difference. If the biggest story is 52pt, the next highest should be 48, 42, 36 and so on. Some consider a 10pt or 8pt size difference to be preferable.
  7. Back to the photos -- dominant vs. secondary. Hopefully, a photo editor will make that call, but if not, what photo advances the story the best? Look for emotion, dynamics and movement, unusual angles and intense or intimate moments. Then play them big. Don't be afraid of, say, 4 columns wide on a 6 column grid. Huge? Yes. Worth it? Yes.
  8. If you have multiple photos, the second photo should not be greater than half the size of the dominant. If the main image is 4 columns wide, the secondary should be roughly 2. Maybe 2.5. Not 3. 1 Might be too small. Strong headline order + big photos = strong, basic page.
  9. Add layering. What is layering? See tips.
  10. Have someone else look at the page. A copy editor, for example, to proof the headlines and layers and body copy for, hopefully, minor errors like grammatical mistakes. You never know what factual errors may come up, and as a designer, its usually not your job to "proof" a story.
  11. Send the page to press.

Tips

  • You'll be given stories to lay out. While you may not be responsible for "proofreading" them for grammar, you had better be sure to read them. You will be able to add context and information -- your design will be more informed. This is critical: newspaper design is an architectural thing, not really a paint-pretty-pictures thing.
  • Avoid lumping photos in the ubiquitous, non-descriptive "art" category. Consider "photos" and "graphics." But many editors etc. do call it all "art."
  • Grids allow a mass of empty newsprint to take on an organizing form.
  • Headline hierarchy is essential to a well-organized page. Without it, how will a reader know what is important and what's not?
  • Research respected publications and compare how they do layout, Often a proven method is what readers expect - this is a great source for Daily Newspaper Covers
  • To layer: Add subheads, or "decks," or "dropheads." These are two three or four lines of additional display type -- 20-24 pt -- that add context to the headline. You can run them 1 column deep, or on the other extreme, you can strip them all the way across a page. They allow readers to get a better grasp of the story while doing a lot less work than reading the whole story.
  • Add information boxes. Pull information out of the story and bullet-point it; bold key numbers and explain WHY these numbers are so important. Readers want information quickly; breaking it out for them is simply doing your job.
  • Mug shots are good for identifying who the players in a story are. Mugs are small, 5p-6p-7p sized headshots. Crop tightly. Add a sentence or two giving context about who the mug-ee is and why they are being featured. Mugs run this way function as additional layering -- information pulled out, brought forward, thrust in front of the eyes of your readers.

Warnings

  • Photoshop cutouts can be awesome -- they add a powerful dynamic to a page. But be very careful about how and when you apply this technique (e.g. don't change pictures in ways that might misrepresent the original).
  • You only really need one headline font. One body copy font. One infobox font. Maybe another variant for cut lines. More fonts doesn't make anything better.

Things You'll Need

  • Computer
  • Patience
  • Stories, photos

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