Second Round of Critiques: Gannett and American Press

by Ben Kupiszewski

In our last class, we had that recruiter from Gannett.  Hence, I decided to check out a Gannett owned and designed paper.

I liked the design of today’s

Tallahassee Sunday Democrat.  The centerpiece is strong for a couple of reasons.  I like the packaging of all the mugshots together.  Individually, they’re dull.  Together, they become a dominant visual.  Also, the headline’s typography is great.  The contrast of color, size, serif works well.  The emphasis on “25” and “women you need to know” is reader-friendly.  From a distance, I think the it grabs the reader’s attention and entices them to read more on the inside pages.  I also like how it’s nestled within the mugshots.  Overall, it’s easily the first thing I noticed.

I also like the refer in the upper right next to the centerpiece.  The treatment the designer gave I feel was wise.  The black box and white typeface keeps it from being overwhelmed by the centerpiece.  I also like the fact it was given a deck and almost acts like

an infobox.  It gives nuggets of information on an developing, big story. I’m guessing the Democrat was leading with this story earlier in the week, and wanted to still give it play, but decided move on to other things.  I feel the treatment was a clever way to accomplish such a goal.

A front page that I didn’t

 like came from the American Press in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  The photo doesn’t demand enough attention away from the all the text.  The centerpiece’s art head is scrunched.  I don’t like the deck on the lead story going only four columns across.  I really don’t like the pull quotes.  The typography on the “who” is confusing with the bylines’ typography.  It’s bigger too, and I thought that it started some type of sidebar.  It also interrupts the readers’ line of sight with the story.  It’s annoying.

*I also apologize for the weird text wrap wordpress is doing.  I don’t know it’s cutting off my sentences.

 

Critique Numero Dos: The San Francisco Examiner

by Ben Kupiszewski

Critique Numero Dos is of the San Francisco Examiner.  The page is comprised of just teases again, but I think this works better than with the Daily Sound because of its execution.

The first thing I notice is the use of color.  The rainbow in the background of the centerpiece grabs my attention immediately.  The color in the teases above the flag give them appropriate second place dominance.  I like how the color was taken from the images in the teases.  It’s the same shade of blue from Tiger Woods’ shirt.

I also like the typography on the centerpiece.  It accentuates the key words of “still,” “waiting” and “altar.”  Moreover, it leaves no doubt as to what is the news of the day.

The teases on the side work too.  I feel, however, they could replace the ad on the bottom and the centerpiece could have been spread across the entire width of the page.  It might be a little cramped as it is.

In conclusion, I like the implementation of color and typography.  They establish the page’s hierarchy effectively.  Apart from the goofy expression on the couple’s face and the centerpiece maybe being expanded, the page is attractive.

Critique Numero Uno: The Santa Barbara Daily Sound

by Ben Kupiszewski

I chose the Santa Barbara Daily Sound for my first critique.  The whole front page is a mega-tease.  The majority of the page is used to tease to the mayor and her reforms.  The upper right-hand corner is reserved for tease to a story about woman arrested for alleged sex acts on a minor. My first issue comes with the implementation of a mega-tease.  Granted, I’m not familiar with the general layout of the Daily Sound, but the news doesn’t seem to warrant taking up this much space.  Mayors propose reforms all the time.  It doesn’t seem to be earth-shattering news.

I’m also not a fan of the execution of the headline and deck.  I feel like a hammer-head is better suited with a skinnier  T-deck moved down.  In this design, they encroach upon her head.  Secondly, the photoshop cutout job by her shoulder is sloppy.

What do you guys think?