A few words on design

As my mini-biography on the right side of this blog indicates, I'm both a mass communications and art major. Art has always been my first love, however. I knew early on in high school I wanted to go to college for art -- it was only later I discovered how much I liked journalism as well. I couldn't decide between the two, so I majored in both.

Even though they're two different majors, there's still quite a bit of overlap between the two when it comes to the publishing industry. Design plays a huge role in newspapers and magazines and most other publications as well. Good design can help boost circulation and sales. Poor design may actually harm circulation and sales. Ultimately, the most well-designed covers and front pages become beautiful works of art.

With that in mind, it's interesting to check out web sites like www.bestfrontdesign.com or www.newspagedesigner.com. The first site provides commentary on various newspapers' front pages on a daily basis, while the second is a site that allows newspaper designers to upload their work. I often save as images pages that are especially appealing or beautiful, such as:







It's neat to see all the different ideas people -- some at the top of our profession -- have come up with and how they've executed those ideas. Some of the work, like the pages above, are absolutely amazing. (My favorite of the three, incidentally, is the Brett Favre feature -- both because of its elegant simplicity and also because I happen to be a huge Packers fan! Unfortunately the image is kind of small.)

In addition, my favorite Sports Illustrated covers include:





SI has had a number of excellent covers over the years. Sometimes the magazine makes its covers a little too busy (the Unitas cover would have been better without the gaudy green box in front of the masthead), but these are both covers that are simple and effective. There's no need for much text -- the photographs say it all. John Gaps III of the Des Moines Register (see my previous post) said yesterday that the best pictures capture "the" moment and make the viewer seem like a participant in the action, and not just a spectator. Both of the photographs on these covers do that.