Producing a Broadsheet and a Tabloid at the Same Time

David Wadmore, Associate Head of Design, The Times, United Kingdom

When The Times decided to launch a compact edition to run in parallel with its broadsheet, and to keep the content in both versions nearly identical, it created a few issues for the design department.

For example, in the 40-page broadsheet, there was an average of 15 news pages, each needing a lead story and lead photo. But the 80-page compact edition had nearly 30 news pages, each needing the same elements.

How the designers dealt with such issues was the subject of Mr Wadmore’s presentation.

The ground rules were simple: the compact had to keep The Times style; the "visual signature" had to be the same; navigation through the paper had to be similar; the picture choice had to be parallel where it was practical; and the front page should tell the same story.

But there were differences too, given the nature of the different sizes. The compact edition gave greater authority to graphics. Photos sometimes had to be cropped differently -- a headshot in the broadsheet might appear as a more dramatic full shot in the compact. And stories and photos on one page in the broadsheet often would become two-page spreads in the compact.

The Changing Front Page of a Classic

Sylvain Cypel, Deputy Editor in Chief, Le Monde, France

Put a front page of Le Monde today next to one from ten years ago, and the effect is startling: a major change in a conservative newspaper not known for change.

Ten years ago, there was one small drawing on the page, and the text was put in straight rows of vertical columns.

Today’s front page includes lots of teasers, color photos both big and small, varying multi-column widths, indexes -- and all of it while still maintaining the "serious" look expected from France’s paper of record.

"It’s become a showcase to our content," says Mr Cypel. In fact, the newspaper no longer has full articles on its front pages -- just previews of what the reader can find inside. Even Mr Cypel is struck by the change in the last decade: "it shows how quickly newspapers adapt to their readers and how readers read today," he says.

Everything Old is New Again

Roger Black, President & Designer, Danilo Black, USA

The front pages of the 21st century won’t win any beauty contests.

They’re extremely busy, filled with illustrated indexes, lots of mosaic-like photos, boxes with magazine typography, many layers and a density reminiscent of newspapers 100 years ago.

"These tend to be the kind of papers that don’t win awards," says Mr Black. "These are not pretty pages."

They may not be beautiful, but they appeal to modern reading habits, he says.

"We’re trying to make our newspapers more useful," he says. "To get more information onto the surface, to make it faster. People just don’t have time anymore, and we have too much competition."

Using examples from Europe and the Americas, Mr Black showed several dozen examples of front pages that used elements that offer readers a lot of information quickly and helps draw them into the newspaper.

Ideas for Attractive Front Pages

Marta Botero, Partner Director, Innovation International Media Consulting Group, Colombia

"Front pages should not be predictable, they should surprise readers," said Ms Botero, who presented examples of innovative front pages from around the world.

Here are a few of her ideas:

  Learn from the sports pages. "Sports pages have to be dramatically different than other sections, so sports editors are obsessed about being different."

  Include stories and photos "more close to everyday life instead of front pages with just politicians, people from the economy, people from the institutions."

  Promos and ’sky boxes’, the windows at the top of the page, is a public stage for what is inside. "Here you can launch books, DVDs, introduce interviews -- it is like a space to use television techniques."