mario garcia
Case Study | TV
Guide
The Problem: When TV Guide was looking to redesign, the editors weren’t concerned about their logo, photography, or any glamourous stuff. The problem was that cable channels were multiplying, and their trademark small pages were quickly beginning to resemble Sanskrit. They couldn’t make the book any larger, because of their custom grocery store checkout boxes. So the grids had to be reworked, as did the “highlights” listings which ran alongside.
What we did: The Highlights pages had traditionally had a “rolling log” design, simply column after column of entries. We remade these in a magazine format, with single page features (right) interrupting the listings, allowing for a stronger editorial voice throughout.
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mario garcia
What we did: Above, even single pages were interrupted by boxes, for contrast and a stronger editorial voice. What we did: For the grids (right), we did type tests, deciding on a highly readable Interstate Condensed. Leading and tracking were adjusted to fit as much text as possible, while retaining legibility. Next, we looked at the page to see if there was unnecessary information taking up space. We minimized page headers and dropped folios (would you really use page numbers?). One important piece of information, the day header, was left large. But the real breakthrough was removing the vertical rules in each grid. While traditional, they are often unnecessary, since the content defines the verticals. This contributed white space, making the pages much more readable. 72
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