Newspaper Design 1 108 pages hardcover ISBN 3-00-006353-6 20 Euro
Reference Book. Want to know more about European design? Then buy the book Newspaper Design 1 – The Results of the First European Newspaper Award – contains all the award-winning pages of the first competition. It is not a picture book, but more like a reference book because of the comments and examples. Design Journal, USA Newspaper Design 2 192 pages softcover wire-o-binding ISBN 3-00-008518-1 35 Euro
Rewarding Insight. The major part of the book deals with the award-winning newspapers and explains the jury’s choice. The prizewinners are presented on three to nine pages so that the readers can get a profound impression of the awarded papers. This compact volume, indeed, gives a ‘rewarding’ insight into the latest trends of newspaper design. Wissenschaftliches Institut für Presseforschung und Medienberatung, Cologne Europe’s creative versatility. So far three annual books of the best of European newspaper design have been published. Europe’s creative versatility is also reflected in the design of those books: The format with all books is the same, but volume 1 is, when opened, of an extreme horizontal format of 60 cm; with volume 2 the pages are turned over from bottom to top, and volume 3 is of a normal upright format. They provide with a brilliant survey on design trends in Europe. Viscom, Switzerland
Newspaper Design 3 182 pages softcover, wire-o-binding ISBN 3-00-010153-5 35 Euro
European
Newspaper Design 4 270 pages softcover wire-o-binding ISBN 3-00-012262-1 44 Euro
Newspaper N E W S PA P E R
A Survey of Current Trends. The fourth yearbook of the European Newspaper Design comprises 270 pages with more than 500 photos. Each category is accompanied by a report about current trends and each award-winning page is commented so that the readers are enabled to understand its underlying idea. All in all, a complete survey on contemporary newspaper design. Viscom, Switzerland
Zeitungsdesign 6 146 pages softcover ISBN 3-00-017171-1 26 Euro
Challenge realized. Albert Esslinger-Kiefer, publisher of Pforzheimer Zeitung, wrote on the occasion of the European Newspaper Congress in 2006: “It was an impressing experience to see the newspaper publishing houses from Portugal to Finland well prepared to meet the challenges of the future.“ The same impression will certainly result from studying this yearbook. Viscom, Switzerland
D E S I G N
&
CO N C E P T
The Competition‘s Chief Target The competition‘s chief target is to support the exchange of information among European newspaper makers and contribute to new and creative ideas.
Newspaper Design 5 270 pages softcover wire-o-binding ISBN 3-00-014754-3 44 Euro
The Search for the Ideal Newspaper. The results of the fifth competition serve as a survey on current trends and concepts of newspaper design throughout Europe. On 270 pages and in more than 500 photos the creative and innovative potential of European newspaper makers is laid out to the readers. The brilliant examples documented in this book might entice some editors to redesign their own papers. Viscom, Switzerland
AWARD
ISBN 3-00-020118-1
Newspaper Design 7 The Results of the Seventh European Newspaper Award Norbert Küpper
The competition has established itself quite well as it fulfills various functions: External effect: Newspapers report about the awards they have won and, thereby, underline their own high standards. At the same time they advertise their own newspaper. Internal effect: The award certificates are put up in many publishing houses and motivate the employees. Forge of ideas. Publications in the yearbooks of the competition and on the internet page www.newspaperaward.org support creativity and the search for new ideas.
The Categories of the Competition The competition is divided into four main prizes according to the following four newspaper types: local newspaper regional newspaper national newspaper weekly newspaper The award winners are entitled to sport the title ”Europe‘s Best Designed Newspaper“ in their masthead for one year.
The way is ahead of us! The idea behind the European Newspaper Award is the exchange and support of creative concepts within Europe. This yearbook together with the homepage www.newspaperaward.org and the European Newspaper Congress can be used as a source for new ideas among newspaper makers. The editorial staffs might often ask themselves: Shall we continue with what we have achieved so far or should we try to improve the design, the contents and the concept of our newspaper? Know the answer? It is always time for some improvement. The present yearbook of the seventh competition shows the way: Our future is ahead of us, not behind us. It depends on us to produce a newspaper for our readers that is continously improving. Set off! Scan your paper page for page and add spice to them by developing new topics. The following pages contain ideas in abundance.
Norbert KĂźpper
Introduction
7
Summary
9
The Chief Winners
25
Front Pages
47
Sectional Front Pages
59
Inside Pages
71
Inside Pages with Adverts
81
Photography
85
Visualization
95
Photo Reportage
99
Infographics
105
Illustration
113
Typography
119
Supplements
123
Special Pages
139
Portfolio
143
Tabloid Layout
153
Concepts
155
Special: The Pope
163
Special: Catastrophes
167
The Innovators
175
List of Winners
177
The Categories
The Criteria
Local papers, regional papers, national papers and weeklies have different target groups, which is reflected in different layouts. Therefore, the competition is divided into four main prizes according to the following four newspaper types: local newspaper regional newspaper national newspaper weekly newspaper. The award winners are entitled to sport the title ”Europe’s Best Designed Newspaper“ in their masthead for one year.
Only the design is put to the test, not the quality of the texts. The jury, however, keeps a watchful eye on the compatibility of pictures and articles.
Apart from those four prizes, the jury also offers a special award: Judges‘ Special Recognition. In addition to the prizes mentioned above, Awards for Excellence are given according to different categories: front pages sectional front pages inside pages inside pages with adverts photography visualization photo reportage infographics illustration typography supplements special pages portfolio tabloid layout concepts special: the pope special: catastrophes the innovators
The standard of the design of the sent-in papers had to be clearly above the normal. Therefore, it was not enough to make a neatly designed newspaper, which quite a number of papers try to achieve. A high standard in the use of visuals, including photographic cuts, the size of photos and variation of formats, is required. Uniform sizes and formats and lack of care with photographic cuts are sure to make a negative impression on the jury. The layout has to be of professional quality. Block make-up and an unmistakable connection between text and picture have to be guaranteed. The layout of the pages should neither be too uniform nor too variable. If it is too uniform, it will be boring; if it is too variable, it might appear chaotic. The winners have found the golden mean: a systematic use of fixed elements of design for the entire newspaper. Typographic elements have to be strictly used on all pages. The chief prizewinners are unconventional, distinctive and innovative in the widest sense in the use of their creative means.
Local papers, regional papers, national papers and weeklies have different target groups, which is reflected in different layouts. The following guidelines, however, have been agreed upon: The typefaces are chosen with respect to optimal reading. The bodycopy is neither too big nor too small. Appropriate reader guidance leads from the front pages to the sectional front pages and from there to each inside page. The pages show a clear hierarchy of topics, indicating the more and the less important articles. Articles are written to the benefit of the readers. Important addresses, homepages or background information are disincorporated from the articles and clustered in service-boxes. Complex topics are portioned and presented in a clear layout. To provide the readers with a varied and gripping paper the editorial contribution should consist of a mixture of news items, reportages, features, interviews and comments.
The Targets
The Jury
Introduction
The competition has established itself quite well as it fulfils various functions: External effect: Newspapers will report about the awards they have won and, thereby, underline their own high standards. In doing so, they also advertize their own publication. Internal effect: The award certificates will certainly be put up in many publishing houses and, thus, motivate the employees. Forge of ideas: Publications in the yearbooks of the competition and our homepage www.newspaperaward.org will encourage creativity and the search for new ideas. The Organizers. The competition is organized by newspaper designer Norbert Küpper. For the seventh competition he co-operated with the journals Medium Magazin (Germany), Der Österreichische Journalist (Austria) and Schweizer Journalist (Switzerland). The Congress. A congress in combination with the presentation of the awards took place in Vienna (Austria), at the Vienna Town Hall, in May 2006. The organizers were jointly supported by the City of Vienna and the newspaper Die Presse. The Participants. 304 newspapers from 26 countries have taken part in the seventh competition (sixth competition: 334).
The jury of the seventh competition met in Düsseldorf (Germany). Its members are journalists, scientists and designers from Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Germany (from left): Dr. Meinrad Rahofer, director of the Austrian board of trustees for the training of journalists, Salzburg (Austria); Joachim Blum, newspaper consultant and foundation member of the SND-Dach, Germany; Walter Jensen, Bergens Tidende, member of the SND, Norway; Martin Huisman, De Morgen, Belgium; Theo Dersjant, Fontys School of Journalism, Tilburg, Netherlands; Annette Milz, editor-in-chief of MediumMagazin, Germany; Javier Errea, University of Pamplona, director of the Society for Newsdesign, Spain; Georg Taitl, editor-in-chief of Der Österreichische Journalist, Salzburg, Austria.
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Front Pages
Wirtschafts Blatt, A ”Humanic-share holders are going their separate ways“– a headline which is symbolized by footprints. This page has a lot of white space. Neue Vorarlberger Tageszeitung, A This newspaper in tabloid format concentrates on a single topic on the front page above. The stubbed-out cigarette butts allude to the topic “World Non-Smoker Day“.
Tønsbergs Blad, N Tønsbergs Blad has been converted – like many other newspapers – to a tabloid format. The combination of photo and headline in the example here is especially bold.
Die Presse, A The front pages of this newspaper are always devoted to a single topic. The headline reads, ”The eight reasons for Africa’s misery“. The article, accordingly, is divided into eight paragraphs.
Questions on front pages you should ask yourselves: Do we look for the most suitable visualization of topics or do we tend to take those that happen to be at hand? Does our front page have a clear main focus? Does the lead article stand out against the remaining articles on the page? Is there a recognizable hierarchy of topics? Do our front pages display all our sections? Does our front page present topics that are neglected by other newspapers? Do we divide our texts into smaller paragraphs so as to visualize the internal structure of an article for our readers?
Summary
Sectional Front Pages
Diário de Notícias, P This sectional front page has an especially successful photographic cut and perspective.
Diário de Notícias, P The cut-out picture and the white space create a certain lightness, but also respectability. Pages like this provide the newspaper with rhythm and variety.
Augsburger Allgemeine, D An exciting contrast is formed by the huge tennis ball and the small tennis player Boris Becker. White space and captions contribute to the relaxed impression of this page.
Questions on sectional front pages you should ask yourselves: Are our sectional front pages different enough from normal inside pages? Do we make sure that the use of photos is bolder than that on inside pages? Is there, apart from the large lead article,enough room for fixed elements that should entice the readers to take in the information on inside pages? Is our newspaper’s division into sections logical, a remnant of our tradition or the product of pure chance? How could we improve them?
Bergens Tidende, N January 19, 2004: A cargo ship suddenly capsizes and members of the crew are captivated in the body of the vessel. Rescue teams cut a hole into the hull. On the front page of their supplement Bergens Tidende shows the piece of paper the crew used to get in contact with the rescue team. “Okay, but, please, make fast. My colleague is dying.“ reads the message.
9
Inside Pages
Basler Zeitung, CH ”A Swiss sceptic and a supporter of the Euro on the Euro crisis“, is the message of the headline. The two opponents are depicted at the bottom of the page. The middle column contains the questions, the answers are on the left and right.
Bergens Tidende, N This is an example of a very magazine-like inside page. The relaxed and leisure-like look is achieved through white space, the cut-out picture and a shaped typesetting that follows the central picture. It is imperative that the text following the contours of the picture has a reader-friendly width: It is neither too narrow nor too wide.
Jornal de Notícias, P ”Tema de Semana“ – ”Topic of the week“ – is the headline on these two pages, the left of which deals with actions against smokers and the right with vacation. Both topics are visualized by a single motif. Figures are presented in service boxes.
Questions on inside pages you should ask yourselves: Do we occasionally have magazine-like inside pages or do all our pages have the same look? Do we – apart from topical contents – present topics that are characteristic of our newspaper? Are we unmistakable? Do we have enough columns such as pros and cons, interviews, opinion polls? Do they appear regularly (weekly)? Do we gather facts, tips, and background information on a certain topic in service boxes or are these service elements placed just anywhere within the article?
Summary
Gazet van Antwerpn, B ”Psychiatry among the people“, reads the headline of this double page in the Gazet van Antwerpen, Belgium. Two psychiatrists who want to do away with prejudices against the mentally disturbed are being interviewed. On the top right a service box is presented under the headline ”Physical exercise has a healing effect“. The photo on its left shows the interiors of a hospital.
OÖ-Nachrichten, A This page of the OÖ-Nachrichten presents the best of upper Austria: the top five conductors, the top five composers and the top ten pop musicians. The page has a very clear structure.
Further questions on inside pages you should ask yourselves: Are our photos pithy enough so as to replace part of the written information? Or are they rather seen as an extra contribution which is not really essential? Do we structure complex topics into smaller units so that our readers can digest the information more easily? Do our inside pages show a careful design or do they fall behind our front and sectional front pages? Do our inside pages show a clear hierarchy of topics and are news clustered in columns?
Tønsbergs Blad, N The double page above provides the readers with a survey of the repercussions of a storm in Norway. The focus of the report is on the circulation area of this paper. On the top of these two pages, a gallery made of photos and texts informs the readers about what has been destroyed by the storm in other parts of the country. The photo shows the emergency services at the clearing of a road. Pictures charged with action as in the example are self-explanatory enough to do without long texts.
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Inside Pages with Adverts
Financial Times Deutschland, D The eye catcher on this page is certainly the pair of eyes in the editorial part so that the advert below becomes secondary. But attractive surroundings are never a disadvantage with adverts as such pages arrest the reader’s attention and the advert will not fail to be noticed.
Basler Zeitung, CH The adverts of this supermarket chain are usually very colourful and consist of many small elements. The Basler Zeitung shows how to handle them on an editorial page. There is a simple rule: Adverts and photos should never border on each other. The photos belonging to the editorial articles are placed on the top of the double page and there are articles on both sides of the advert. The editorial part is emphasized by the extreme photographic cut, the advert by its colours.
Pforzheimer Zeitung, D The dominating adverts of the Media Markt company seem to place any editorial contributions on a second rank. This newspaper, however, has found a means of gaining enough attention for their own articles, namely by placing a conspicuous colourful graphic element in the centre of the upper half of the page.
Questions on pages with adverts you should ask yourselves: Do editorial photos adjoin adverts on our pages? How could we avoid such a mistake? Do we make sure that adverts with many small elements appear on pages with spacious editorial contributions? Can we persuade some of our clients to prefer adverts in a landscape format, which would make page make-up much easier? Front and back pages of sections are more frequently studied by readers than inside pages. Could we possibly reduce the size of adverts here?
Summary
Photography
Amsterdam Weekly, NL Hans Eijkelboom, the newspaper’s photographer, has a faible for pedestrians of whom he takes lots of photos, which he then arranges in series. In the example above you can see women in summer tops.
Stuttgarter Zeitung, D The daily work routine of mail deliverers is wonderfully caught in the photos which shows these persons on their traditional bike or when sorting the mail. Photographic cut and size contribute to their effect as eye catchers.
Questions on photography you should ask yourselves: Do we take photos from a bird’s-eye and from a worm’s-eye view in turns? Do we leave the formats of our photos to chance or do we employ them systematically? Have we ever had a photographic sequence in our newspaper? When it comes to photographic sizes, do we always use the same sizes or are we able to vary? Do we prefer group photos or do we portray people individually? Do we show people at their work places?
Drogheda Independent, Irl ”First day at school“, reads this page’s headline. Each single pupil is being introduced and portrayed. This page offers an agreeable alternative to the traditional group photographies on occasions like this.
Kurier, A Such a sequence can be found in any textbook on photography – but, unfortunately, mostly there and not in newspapers, for which they are intended. This sequence accompanying an interview shows the potential of visualization.
13
Visualization
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, D ”Life along the River Nidda“, is the headline of this double page. The map in the middle shows the River Nidda with figures and red lines indicating individual parts of the river which the article informs about. The text itself is divided into small paragraphs.
St. Galler Tagblatt, CH The page is dominated by the photo of a crying baby. ”Children harping on their parents’ nerves – a taboo topic“, reads the headline, which is perfectly visualized.
Gazet van Antwerpen, B ”Terror attacks more and more people“, is the title on this page from the Gazet van Antwerpen. The globe is depicted as a bomb with the fuse already burning. The figures on the globe indicate the number of terroristic attacks in recent years. On the right the backgrounds of these attacks are commented on.
Questions on visualization you should ask yourselves: Do the editorial staff and the photographers discuss the visualization of topics sufficiently? Do the editorial staff and the photographers get together to decide upon a most suitable visualization of a topic? Have we ever thought about the necessity of visualizing a topic in the best possible way? Do headlines and photos contradict each other in our paper or do they form a unity?
Summary
Photo Reportage
Bergens Tidende, N “Mayday, mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Rocknes, Rocknes, Rocknes, Our boat is capsizing inVatlestraumen.“ Bergens Tidende has found a thrilling beginning for their photo reportage about a dramatic rescue after a boat has capsized. The double page emphasizes the photographic focus. Two smaller photos have been inserted into the spacious one which show the process of capsizing like in a sequence.
Bergens Tidende, N This double page shows the boat’s exact position in the fjord and how a seaman was able to rescue himself by climbing over the rail. At the bottom of the page there is a timeline running over several pages. The rescue procedure is commented on in small paragraphs and pictures. It becomes obvious that Bergens Tidende uses the photo reportage as a normal journalistic means.
Questions on photo reportages you should ask yourselves: A photo reportage is a story in pictures added by small textual elements. Should we, as a rule, make sure to present a larger variety of journalistic means in our newspaper? Have we ever had a photo reportage in our paper? Could we possibly plan a photo reportage on a regular basis in our weekend supplement or in any of our sections?
15
Infographics
SonntagsZeitung, CH ”Who owns Bahnhofstraße in Zurich?“ is the question placed on the top of this double page. The street and its buildings are presented as infographics. Small paragraphs inform about the owners. Some of the major buildings are shown in photographs.
Tartu Postimees, EE The special effect in these infographics is the picture of the church as a transparent building. On the left and right you can find details of the church together with short explanations. At the bottom of the page a timeline comments on the original condition of the building and the process of its destruction.
Questions on infographics you should ask yourselves: Have we ever had infographics in our newspaper? How could we organize our working methods so as to be able to engage a graphic artist? Do we only use texts as a means of communication or could we possibly choose visuals to present a topic? Could facts and figures in the various sections of our newspaper be dealt with by means of infographics? Do we have a working concept for the basic design of infographics, such as pie and bar charts, columns, temperature curves and tables?
Summary
Illustration
Östersunds Posten, S The diverging financial situation among the different communities in the distribution area of Östersunds Posten are presented in an illustration. Some find it hard to bear their debts or are being devoured by a big hole in their budget, others, however, are able to rest themselves on their financial reserves.
Dablad van het Noorden, NL Illustrations are being used to present villages and towns in the distribution area of the newspaper. In the example above drawings and maps have been combined so that they produce a nice three-dimensional effect.
Questions on illustration you should ask yourselves: Have we ever employed illustrations in our newspaper? How can we include illustrations in our business, weekend or leisure sections? Shall we place a job advert in the vacancies section: ”Freelance illustrator required“ or should we turn to a local college for design with our question? Do we have regular columns which could be supported by illustrations? What about portrait drawings of persons we could present in a series?
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Typography
Der Sonntag, D This newspaper uses serif and sansserif fonts very systematically to underline special contents and the atmosphere of a page as a whole. The light font for the headline signalizes ‘weekend’, ‘weekly paper’. Also the white space matches the typefaces. Questions on typography you should ask yourselves: Do the typefaces in our newspaper have a modern appeal or do they seem outdated and old-fashioned? Are the sizes of the headlines arranged according to the importance of the articles and are they presented in a clear hierarchy on the page? Do we use our fonts systematically? Do we have a manual where we can look up the details we need?
Der Landbote, CH The narrow font for the headlines conveys seriousness and reliability. The section titles with their sansserif font form a nice contrast with the serif typeface.
Summary
Supplements
Levante, E The referee’s whistle is depicted twice in this supplement: on the front page and on a double page. Another interesting feature are the extremely flat photographic cuts and the colours in the diary on the right which give the readers an orientation.
Norrköpings Tidningar, S This double page is devoted to the topic ‘hair’. The photographic cuts, formats and the white space are outstanding features. There is a hierarchy of photos on the two pages which is meant to guide the readers.
Questions on supplements you should ask yourselves: Do our supplements have an overall concept or are they somehow the result of a historical development? Do we issue our supplements in regular intervals or on fixed dates or are they published so seldom that the readers barely take notice of them? Do our supplements appear as part of our standard product or do they rather look like publicity brochures? Are we able to develop a concept for new supplements – for instance on lifestyle, leisure, health and wellness. Such topics might also be interesting for clients who want to place advertisements.
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Special Pages
Stuttgarter Nachrichten, D Especially with special pages there is a trend towards using double pages. These pages on the topic ‘400 years of newspapers’ are very typical. Small articles are placed around a central motif. On the top the daily routine in the production of a newspaper is presented, at the bottom you can see statements made by the readers. The large motif in the centre, depicting the head and hands of a newspaper reader, is a perfect eye catcher.
Dagblad van het Noorden, NL Special pages vary a lot from the regular layout of a newspaper, but they should adjust themselves to the overall concept. This special page is a typical one: The illustration and the relaxed arrangement are striking, the typography has been taken over from the bodycopy of this newspaper.
Questions on special pages you should ask yourselves: Do we have a concept for the design of special pages or does each page differ from the next? Do special pages appear at regular intervals or is their appearance left to chance? Do we focus on certain topics for special pages or do they come up rather spontaneously? Should we consider a concept for the contents and design of special pages?
Summary
Portfolio
Kurier, A On these pages the work of a single designer or a designer team is assessed by the jury. They are a typical example of the category ‘portfolio’. The serial character of the pages becomes apparent: The eye catcher of each page is an ordinary object like an apple, a cucumber or a tie, which has been blown up and used for the visualization of the topic.
Stuttgartr Zeitung, D In the portrait series ”People“ individual citizens are introduced. Their professions, hobbies and their opinions are put in the foreground. The design for each page is the same: a photograph on the top taking the full width of the page and a portrait inserted in the text below in combination with a quotation.
Questions on portfolio you should ask yourselves: “Less is more“ is the famous motto of the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Do we have to find new designs for each of our series or for regular sections or do we rather need a simple and clear layout? Is there an editor or a designer or a team in our staff who is responsible for a continuously high-quality appearance?
21
Concepts
Kauppalehti Presso, FIN As a joint venture with the Association of Finnish Housewives a series about daily housework routine has been launched. The target group of the newly founded newspaper is very young. The example above demonstrates how to clean windows properly.
Sonntag Aktuell, D ”Anteater Report“ reads the headline which has been chosen to mark the beginning of a new series. The editorial staff has studied the life of an anteater at Stuttgart Zoo for a whole year. It is an idea which can easily be copied and will certainly win readers and strengthen the relationship between the readers and their newspaper.
Stuttgarter Zeitung, D ”Doors being opened“ is the title of a series in which people and their homes are being introduced. The series consists of nine parts. The photos were taken by a panorama camera which allows unusual insights.
Questions on concepts you should ask yourselves: How have series and recurrent columns made their way into our newspaper? Did it happen on purpose or by chance? Which are our objectives with new conceptional ideas? Do we want to make our product more attractive for our readers? Could we develop a concept for different series that will last for a couple of months and improve the profile of our newspaper?
Summary
Innovation
Rheinische Post, D ”Opinio“ is a project which transforms readers into writers. Their head office is the paper’s homepage. Everybody can submit articles which are posted on the homepage by the editorial staff. Choice contributions are published in the monthly supplement ”Opinio“. In addition to this, the newspaper issues pages with the readers’ articles once a week.
Questions on innovation you should ask yourselves: How did the concept for our newspaper develop? Has it developed over a span of 100 years and does it have to continue in the same way? How about interlocking our newspaper with the Internet? Have we ever thought about new contents and new sections? There are so many topics that would not fit in the classical repertoire or have never been mentioned in our newspaper like new kinds of sport, new games, lifestyle, leisure …
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The Guardian Europe’s Best Designed Newspaper, category ‘national newspaper’. Jury statement The Guardian was given a new format, new column widths, new fonts, a new house colour and a new masthead. Despite of all this, the newspaper could retain its identity because the page make-up and the handling of photos remained unchanged. In this way, the Guardian serves as a good example of how a newspaper can get a new design without losing its characteristic features.
Information on the newspaper The Guardian, Great Britain, was redesigned in September 2005. Its format was reduced from the Nordic to the Berlin format. The Guardian sells ca 400,000 copies.
Teasers. The teaser space above the masthead is about 8 cm high. As The Guardian is mainly available at retail sale the conspicuous presentation of topics is more important than the masthead. The way the barcode has been integrated into the teaser space is very intelligent as it looks like another element of design. The large cut-out picture shows the commentator Simon Jenkins who is quoted on the left: “A fiasco without parallel... It’s time to leave Iraq.“ Masthead. Before it was redesigned the house colour was red, now it is blue. The placing of the logo, however, is similar to the previous one. The date and the price are put on the left in the blue field. Page layout. The make-up consists of five columns which give the page in the Berlin format a generous appearance. As a means of structuring horizontal and vertical lines are employed so that a clear page layout is achieved. Mixture of topics. On this page the lead article about the Iraq war is placed side by side with a single photo of Kate Moss and her boyfriend. The range of topics seems to be larger with The Guardian than with other national newspapers.
The Chief Winners
Promotion space. The room above the masthead is used as a promotion space in this example. This newspaper copy supplies the readers with an additional 24-page brochure with exclusive Italian recipes by Jamie Oliver.
Cover story. The story on page one is continued on pages two and three. A characteristic feature of The Guardian is its use of photos. The example above shows how a large photo is arranged in a contrastive pattern with some smaller ones. The difference in size creates tension.
Page three. The entire page is devoted to Simon Wiesenthal. Below the line indicating the topic of the page, five quotations are used as an introduction to the article. Here, the headline serves as a caption to the broad picture: �Tireless voice of 6m murdered Jews.“
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Sectional front page. The front page of the sport section is marked by a green section head with a cut-out picture, which serves as a nice contrast to the other two photos on the page. Above the masthead you can find three references to articles on inside pages.
Sport charts. The Guardian reveals a very minute planning: There is a squad sheet for each of the ten football teams, apart from that there is additional information on the teams. The service for the readers also includes the TV channels that transmit the games.
A double page of sports. The section headlines divide this double page into two parts: “Rugby League“ on the left, and “Sport“ on the right. The bigger headline on the left can be attributed to the large photo in the middle. Detail: The portrait of the author above the article on the left has a very flat cut.
The Chief Winners
Weekend issue. At weekends the sectional front pages have even bigger heads. Articles with photos, illustrations, and cut-out pictures show the wide range of elements of design.
Topical pages. ”Hurricane Rita“ and ”Confrontation in Basra“ are the page headlines of these two topical pages. A characterictic feature is the large photo running over both pages and connecting the various articles on the topic.
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Kleine Zeitung Europe’s Best Designed Newspaper, category ‘regional newspaper’. Jury statement With the Kleine Zeitung (Small Newspaper) their name is their programme: When the paper was founded in 1904 it was already given its handy format. The editorial staff is well-trained in exploiting the advantages of such a small size. Large unstructured blocks of texts are nowhere to be found. Information is always presented in a clear and straightforward way. Breakers, infographics and service boxes help the readers to take in the information.
Masthead. The first line is made of a sansserif font, the second of a serif font – a contrast which is a characteristic trade mark. Lead article. On the far end of a diving board jutting out into a swimming pool somebody is sitting with an umbrella put up over him. The headline reads: “Give it up, Bernhard!“ The solution to this somewhat quizzical message is given further down on the page: “A wet start into the summer holidays. Low Bernhard is to blame for it.“ The masthead is framed by two teasers and there are three more teasers at the bottom left. With this format which rougly equals a DIN A 4 format, the concentration on a single topic with a pithy presentation seems to be a good decision. Typeface for headlines. The typeface is called Knockout and of a rather American appeal as can be seen from the bold capital letters in comparison to the small letters. The reason for this is that there are less capital letters in English than in German. Adverts. Adverts are integrated in the layout. They are placed at the bottom right.
Information on the newspaper Kleine Zeitnug from Graz, Austria, sold 264,253 copies in the third quarter of 2005. The number of subscribers could be increased by 7,491, compared to the previous year. The newspaper is issued in the half Berlin format.
The Chief Winners
Reader-oriented presentation. Especially innovative is this reader-oriented presentation of topics: Instead of long texts, practical advice is given and presented in a straightforward way. Here are four examples.
Reader-oriented presentation I. On the occasion of the summer break the newspaper distributes school reports to the members of the government, who are presented as caricatures.
Reader-oriented presentation II. The lead states, “Their destinations, their favourite books, their preferences and commitments: The editors of the Kleine Zeitung reveal their (summer)-secrets.“
Reader-oriented presentation III. “Reading matter, for a good thrill“ is the headline on this double page which presents ten mysteries.
Reader-oriented presentation IV. The lead-in informs: “Our survival kit for beach life ranges from a waterproof cell phone to an inflatable cow.“ Things that nobody really needs on holiday.
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Structured information. “Let’s get out!“ reads the headline of this local page. The lead-in says,“Holidays, at last! And this means: Flight tickets are in short supply. But we have made inquiries where last minute bookers can still take off to.“ Six travel agencies have been contacted. Portraits of the travel agents with a travel tip from each are a good promotion for the agencies and a good service for the readers.
People into the newspapers. On the occasion of the distribution of school reports at the end of the school year, five prominent readers are being presented. The lead-in states, “Also distinguished Styrians have been students in their time. We have taken a close look at their school days and school reports.“ “More people into the newspapers!“ has become a hackneyed catchphrase. The Kleine Zeitung, however, makes perfect use of it by producing five nice stories with details about prominent people, so far unheard of, on the occasion of a fixed date like the annual distribution of school reports.
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Text, photo, infographics I. This double page explains an accident and a rescue action from a cable car by using texts, photos and infographics.
Text, photo, infographics II. On this double page the parliament building of the Austrian federal country Styria is shown in detail. This page was issued on the occasion of the regional elections.
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Östersunds Posten Europe’s Best Designed Newspaper, category ‘local newspaper’. Jury statement Östersunds Posten has a very clear and well-balanced layout. Front and inside pages always display a very large lead photo, the most important article is emphasized by the size of the headline, news are clustered in columns. In contrast to other newspapers the headlines are not too big, so that the overall impression is very balanced and relaxed.
Information on the newspaper Östersunds Posten, Sweden, has a circulation of 31,200 copies, which could be increased by 1,600 copies in comparison to the year 2002. It is published in a half Nordic format.
Handy format. Östersunds Posten has been issued in a half Nordic format for some years now. Masthead. The abbreviation “ÖP.“ was not approved of by all members of the jury. But it shows that the paper is deeply rooted in its region, so that it is not necessary for it to bear the full name in the masthead. Lead article. The lead headline is on the top right. After twelve lines there is a reference towards the full article on an inside page. The lead photo has a landscape format and shows children playing in the mud. Teasers. The remaining page contains small teasers which refer to inside pages. Local events in the foreground. Like many Scandinavian papers Östersunds Posten is characterized by its local reporting. The front page, for example, contains only local topics. The local section follows on page two. But there is also an opinion page, a page with letters to the editor, a page for domestic and one for foreign affairs, and a separate culture and weekend section. The second half of the paper consists of adverts. The final part is devoted to horoscopes, comics and a radio and TV programme.
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Local news. The local section immediately follows the front page and shows a large section head. On the top right there is a gallery with brief news. The lead picture runs from the left to the right side above the fold. The brevity of the texts is characteristic of all Scandinavian newspapers.
Front page varieties. The front pages are always marked by photos in different landscape and portrait formats. The examples above do not belong to the articles and, therefore, are separated by lines. On both pages a total of ten different topics is offered.
Children’s double page. They issue a weekly supplement for children and teenagers. The topic on this page is: “A safety helmet for cyclists? What a question!“ The layout with short texts and lots of pictures is not only designed for the children’s pages, but a standard feature with Östersunds Posten. On the right you can find a week’s survey of events for teenagers. A nice detail is the author’s portrait, name, telephone number and e-mail address at the end of the article.
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Photo reportage. This weekend supplement contains a small collection of photo reportages. On four pages people, their homes and their lives are presented.
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Double pages. The weekend supplements often feature double pages with cut-out pictures or contrasting photographic sizes. The example above is about handbags and jewellery.
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Kauppalehti Presso Europe’s Best Designed Newspaper, category ‘weekly newspaper’. Jury statement Kauppalehti Presso is a weekly newspaper from North Europe, full of ideas and with a fresh design. In many respects it resembles a magazine as pages with small texts take turns with generous double pages containing longer texts and large photos. The photographic language is aggressive and appeals to a young target group.
Information on the newspaper Kauppalehti Presso from Helsinki, Finland, founded in 2004, has a circulation of ca 50,000 copies. It is issued in a half Nordic format.
Masthead. It is set in a serif font and is white on a black background, which creates an aggressive and modern impression. Visualization. Below the lead photo with the dead bird the question is placed: “Where have all our small birds gone? The French have eaten them!“ This topic is marked by a very pithy visualization. Further topics. Above the masthead and below on the left further topics are indicated. Newspaper cover. The extravagant design rather looks like a magazine cover than just a newspaper front page.
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Front page. This is another example of the aggressive visual language on the front page.
Editorial. Page five contains the editorial. In a self-confident poise the author is placed as a cut-out portrait next to his contribution. The coffee cup marks on the page suggest that this page has already been read.
Starter. It is a standard with magazines that the first pages are filled with short texts and small pictures. Together with longer articles they provide a certain rhythm. Contrasting pages and contents make an entertaining paper.
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Magazine cover. This front page is typical of a magazine cover. The effect is supported by the way the head of the front page model reaches into the title of the paper “Presso“ and hides part of the letters. The combination of the portrait and the headline “Cult Diva“ is perfect.
Long distance. This double page is typical of a long story. The cut-out picture is well chosen as it concentrates on the essential. The text is broken up by quotations and a service box on the right.
Unmistakable style. The disastrous effect of alcohol is very convincingly demonstrated in the infographics. The character in the six successive pictures shows the gradual physical decline under the influence of increasingly higher percentages of alcohol indicated in the red circles. The approach towards this topic is very humorous. Infographics such as the above example are a common feature in Presso. They underline the paper’s individual style.
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Starting signal. This double page has a very large detail shot which will not fail to arouse the reader’s attention. Below there are four smaller photos and a service box with personal data. The article is interrupted by two quotations. It is a standard practice to continue a story on further inside pages as is the case here. For a multi-page story it is important to offer the reader a starting signal like in the example above.
Visualization. Six mobile phones are presented on this page. Their phantastic functions are being explained by the spirit from Aladin’s magic lamp. The presentation of the individual mobile phones is very clear.
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Die Zeit Europe’s Best Designed Newspaper, category ‘weekly newspaper‘. Jury statement Die Zeit is the epitome of a classical newspaper: The Nordic format and the long articles have always been its trademark. In the past years, however, reforms have been carried out such as the placard-like front page design which always has a very good visualization of the topic of the week. Conspicuous features on inside pages are photographic sizes and cuts, and unusual ideas for the illustration of themes. And above all: The concept is well received on the market, as the circulation has risen in the past two years by three percent.
Information on the newspaper Die Zeit, Germany, has a circulation of 466,684 copies (IVW 3/05). It was increased by three percent in comparison to the year 2003.
Masthead. The font with the white central line is not really up to date, but it is neither completely outdated. Without the adverts on both sides this newspaper would even look more important. Lead area. For some time now an oblong field under the masthead has been reserved for the lead story which contains the most important story of the week. The visualization is often made of a photographically realistic drawing. Especially for retail sale at a kiosk a pithy design is imperative for a customer’s decision. Hence the extravagant design. Headlines. For headlines a classicist Antiqua is used, which is responsible for the newspaper’s classical appearance. The sansserif font Thesis is employed for captions, headlines and infographics and produces a nice contrast of typefaces. Memorial slab. In the past the whole front page was covered with a single text. This is why it was inofficially called memorial slab. Today only the lower part is covered with bodycopy, so that long-term subscribers will still feel at home with their paper, despite all recent reforms.
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Eye catcher. The pictures on the upper parts of the above shown pages are good eye catchers. They decide about the number of copies sold at a kiosk. The illustrations are especially produced for this newspaper. They have meanwhile become the newspaper’s trademark. Visualization. The front page of this travel section shows a great number of empty beds. Only one has been slept in. The article is about hotels in Berlin. “The city of empty beds“ reads the headline. A perfect visualization of this topic.
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Photographic cut. “Before the election of the pope: the schism of the church.“ is the page-title of this inside page. The almost page-high photo with the vertical row of cardinals gives the page a dynamic appeal and is a good visualization of the topic.
Cut-out picture I. The head of the government is obviously so strong-willed that she can push the print aside with her elbows.
Cut-out picture II. The politician Oskar Lafontaine seems to peer out from behind a column. The position of this cut-out picture produces an interesting three-dimensional effect.
Photographic format. An extreme upright format provides any page of a newspaper with a dynamic effect. An interesting detail is the headline inserted in the photo.
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Integrating adverts. The rule is: editorial pictures must never border on adverts. This rule is splendidly observed here because the texts runs along the centrally placed advert.
Clear and factual. The infographics of the newspaper Die Zeit are clear and factual and correspond very well with the newspaper’s general style.
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Diário de Notícias Judges‘ Special Recognition Information on the newspaper Diário de Notícias, a national newspaper, is published in Lisbon, Portugal. It has been awarded for photo reportages in its weekly supplement DNA since the first European Newspaper Award.
War. A journalist is accompanying soldiers at their deployment in Iraq. The gloomy pictures seem to be speaking for themselves. This is why the reportage can do almost without any text.
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Buchenwald. This photo reportage of the concentration camp Buchenwald is especially vivid because of its black and white photos.
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