Subscribe to Feed Subscribe by Email

Looking for a job? Check out the CMSWire Job Board.

Learning from the World’s Best-Designed Newspapers

Even though it seems like all we online content management types like to do is dismiss the presence of print media, sometimes we can muster up the courage to offer up an acknowledgment for the traditional genre.

And so, we recognize the Society for News Design (yes, such a society does exist!) for announcing the winners of its 29th annual “The Best of Newspaper Design Creative Competition” in which four of the “World’s Best-Designed Newspapers” were named.

What does Newspaper design have to do with content management?

• Consistency
• Surprise
• Courage

These three attributes were noted by the judges when asked “what makes a world’s best-designed newspaper?”. Although the entries judged were all paper-based, their successes can translate into the electronic medium in the same way.

Whether online or in print, the visual layout of text and images is always crucial to how your publication is perceived. And while it’s important to draw the user/reader in, it’s even more imperative to keep them interested.

Being consistent with your design not only upholds your integrity, but it gives the reader a sense of familiarity.

As for surprise and courage, judges were drawn to the innovative use of graphics and images to illustrate the story being told. As we are constantly reminded, writing for the Web is different than writing for print. The substitution of a photo instead of words can be compelling.

With more CMS capabilities lending themselves to improving the way media, images and video are displayed and rendered on the screen; what better way to capture your user’s attention?

In a world where web publishing is challenging the identity of print publishing, it’s important to remember that online media is not replacing traditional media formats because it’s superior.

Rather it is pushing traditional media aside because it’s a part of the evolution of technology and design. Online media is taking cues from its print predecessors and we’d be foolish to ignore the pursuits and successes of the print industry, especially newspapers.

We encourage you to peruse the winners, learn from their achievements, and then tell us what you think.

Comments