I'm currently sitting on the floor of the Chicago O'Hare airport waiting for my flight back home. Three-hour layover would probably force anyone to purchase internet for an inflated price. Anyway, I'm coming back from the annual CMA New York conference where I enrolled in the Society of Publication Designers' March (Design) Madness sessions. I have to say they were extremely helpful and sparked many more ideas that might drive items in the OU Daily redesign.
One thing that I found particularly refreshing was the emphasis on setting type for ideal readability, or for the sake of being consistent in this blog, legibility.
(A few definitions for the blog: Readability - ability for the reader to interpret large type treatments such as headlines or other design cues. Legibility - the physical ease for the reader to read, understand or interpret copy.)
One session in particular, taught by Conde Nast Traveler's art director Andy Omel, showed me a few more tricks to create ideal copy treatment. His technique was a look into how high-end professional magazines set their type for the best in design, both readability and legibility. I will for sure implement these techniques in the spreads that are left for the yearbook, but the hard part is to find ways to implement and teach these techniques to people at The Daily so they can present the paper in a way that almost no college paper is now (at least that's what I'm willing to bet... and I'm willing to bet big).
These techniques are very detail-oriented, but if done well, it would make a marked change in how copy looks and is presented. I would recommend these details for special features only at first, and then if all goes well I will set the copy style with these settings built in.
Redesign Date Pushed Back
The new size and redesign unveiling has been pushed back until April 6 due to budgetary and printer issues. This gives me, and the rest of the staff, a little bit more time to work the finer details to their highest potential, which is particularly exciting for me. I love that I get the opportunity to really fine-tune the design of the paper because this benefits everyone involved, especially the reader. What I hope is that the readers is initially pleased with what they see as a whole, and continues to find the paper easy to understand and use as they get into the content.
The bad thing about pushing back the date is that the readers on campus will have two weeks less time with the new size and design. Realistically, this redesign is for the fall 09 semester, since it will still be in its infancy by the time I graduate in May. I guess it is my last project while I'm in school. What better way to leave than to set the foundations for what college papers need to be in the future. The whole industry is changing, and this redesign is a preview for other students to see how their content and coverage has to change with the times.
My flight just got moved up, so I must be going now. I'll be on vacation until Monday, so I hope to update with images and examples at a later date. Thanks for reading!
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