Beyond Typography

Design: from print to web

There's been a lot of stuff being posted about the future of magazines, newspapers, journalists, in fact anything to do with print. Karl Schneider, Editorial Director at RBI, had makes some good points on his  blog about the future role of the production desk.

Part of my remit at Flight and ICIS is to ensure that our magazines are not just online text versions of the printed articles, but a different, richer, offering. This could include things such as the original recorded interview available as a podcast, truly interactive information graphics and video.

Now, to get to this stage means that the information gatherers (aka journalists) think about how they gather the information, what information they gather and how it will appear. In the past, the final offering was a double page spread with a picture of the bloke being interviewed, the location (maybe) and a couple of links at the end to relevant websites. Obviously (I say obviously, but you'd be surprised how many people don't or won't get it) it's time to think about all the stuff that can be offered, then pare it down for print.

This means, arguably, a different approach to laying out a feature if you have the rich version online. Do you have the full text article online or just in print? Do you have an extended (uncut?) version online or have a precis and refer to the print version?

My concern is that the design of both print and web complement each other. It reinforces the brand awareness. As Mark Porter, Creative Director at the Guardian, said at a symposium late last year, the online version doesn't need to look exactly like the print version. Elements can be used that are common to both. For example the colour palette or pullquote style, even some of the font usage. And refer to the print version as well.

Designers need to be able to lay out a web page as easily as they can a printed page. An online version of Quark or InDesign. Something that is as easy to use as these packages, with similar functionality such as style sheets, text control and colour palettes. There are few things more depressing than creating a visual of a web page then giving it to the developers to code and getting something that sort of looks like what you want, but Microsofted (Mac users, you know what I mean, the subtleness of a Mac is lost somehow missing on a PC). But it's not just the ability to use a software package. Print designers need to be retrained to appreciate how a web page works: type usage, where does the reader look first, image use, colour use. We designers are visually literate and know the mechanics of a printed page, it shouldn't take much to build on that. A lot of editorial designers I know were put off web design because of the perceived notion of all the coding that would need to be done. And why should we have somebody else lay out the feature on the web? After all, if you've gone to great lengths in commissioning a photograph or illustration, you would've thought about how it was going to work with the rest of the layout – the interaction with the headline or standfirst, for example. Obviously if you are commissioning this stuff (lucky you!) then you'll also be able to think about how it will be used on the web.

And as Karl said in his blog, new skills will also have to learnt: maybe a bit of Flash or some video editing, for example. This should be straightforward. A lot of designers already dabble with this sort of stuff, even if it's in their own time. We are already heading back to the time when designer meant just that, a DESIGNER who can (and want to) turn their hand to most design problems. Think of Eric Gill: type designer, architect, sculptor, engraver and artist; or Neville Brody, type designer,  who went from record sleeve design, to art director of seminal publication the Face, to web design (the Guardian website, for one) and online communication. He redesigned the Times a couple of years ago.  

At RBI we are moving our web platforms over to something called EpiServer. This, apparently, will offer us a lot of the functionality we (as magazine designers) would like. We are told it will be as easy to use as InDesign, It will offer a host of other things as well, such as the ability to move things around a screen a la Netvibes. It is also being touted that it so easy to use anybody can design a page and upload it.

This is where I start to have reservations. Not everyone has a designers' eye for detail or composition or colour awareness. And not to detract from the enthusiasm that these people have, there needs to be safeguards in place so that the professional image of the brand/publication are not damaged. Printed publications have a workflow in place to ensure the best possible product is delivered in the time available. It would be reasonable to assume that a design workflow suitable for web-first publishing is established to ensure that high standards are maintained. Designers need to be part of this discussion.

What do you think?

It is my job

I checked out the blog of Paul Kurzeja, one of the panelists at Tuesday's Big Debate. Some really interesting posts if you're into the future of publishing and marketing. A couple of posts caught my eye: this one, from June, about content and the way it is marketed. The other is more recent and is a speech made by Chad Hurley, one of the You Tube co-founders.

What is apparent from both is that more free content, distributed in an appropriate way, can actually build loyalties to a brand, publication or tv network. Also, that the traditional centralized distribution hub is on its way out. I like the statement:

“There is no old media. There is no new media. There is one media with one common purpose; to inform, move and inspire the world through information, art and entertainment.” – Chad Hurley, co-founder You Tube,  16 October 2008

I think these are exciting times to be a designer in publishing. It's like being back at art college where you get a chance to do a bit of everything – video, photography, graphics, illustration, etc. For years I've thought that the role has been in a straightjacket. Modern technology is now allowing us to participate, on a professional level, in what a lot of us do in our spare time. We, as trained and educated professionals in visual skills, can now start to influence the look and feel of a magazine beyond the printed page. We can now say how the content should be looking on the web, and how the pictures, vids, audio, etc will interact. The role of the designer will become more important as more visual elements are used, not just for layout, but to maintain the visual identity of the publication brand.

The only things holding us back are work colleagues who don't see it as part of our role (journalists deciding how best to crop images or edit video, or marketing people deciding which fonts to use!?), or us – designers, art editors, art directors – in the classic phrase "it's not my job."

Why colour matters

I was looking for some info to back up an argument about how colour affects perception of a brand, and I directed to these sites via the excellent Swiss Miss blog:

The first site is called Color Matters. It is a great site covering all aspects of colour and colour theory;

The second site, actually post, was A Guide to Choosing Colors for Your Brand, on the Usability Post site.

 

Olympic designs

 

Well, the Olympics Games open in Beijing tomorrow. The opening and closing ceremonies have been designed by Zhang Yimou, the Beijing Olympics Committee art director. He is the outstanding film director who made Hero and House of Flying Daggers, amongst other things.

A raft of high-profile designs will be rolled-out as companies try to maximise exposure to the global audience.

Here is an interactive graphic about the evolution of the Olympic torch.

Have a good day.

Metro maps

Following on from last Sunday's post, I thought I'd do something about the maps. Most maps fall into two categories: diagrammatic and representational. The obvious examples of each are the London Underground and New York Subway maps, respectively. I think that good information graphics should be clear and concise. Is it really necessary to know the geography above ground to make sense of a tube map? The unfortunate thing is, a few years ago they had a really great map by Massimo Vignelli but it was ditched in favour of the current one. There are now attempts to have a version by KICK Design adopted.

You can see Vignelli talk about his design on www.helveticafilm.com.

A good article here about subway map design on the Johnson Banks website. 

Information Architects, a Tokyo-based brand agency, have created an web-trends map based on the Tokyo Metro map. They have even created a clickable online version.

All the subway maps of the world can be viewed here.

Marketing message

I attended a marketing department meeting the other day. All members of the department are required to attend. I was there because the Creative Services department, where I've been doing a job shadow for the past couple of weeks, come under the marketing jurisdiction. 

I didn't realise how many marketing people there were in the company. ScaRY!

Being marketing all the presenters were very good at public speaking and their presentations were equally as good. There was a howler that NOBODY ELSE NOTICED. An e-direct marketing person made a presentation and began by saying that everybody should have received an email entry for a prize draw, but unfortunately they used the wrong list so not everybody would have received it. WAHAHAHAHAHA! I couldn't believe it!

If you've ever been briefed by a marketing person, you'll appreciate the following vid. I first saw this last night sitting on a (delayed) train on my iPhone on the Debbie Millman blog. Hilarious.

Oh $%*&!!

Apparently there IS a term for the use of non-alphabet characters to indicate swearing. Read here if you want to know what it is!

Interesting sites

A couple of interesting (and useful sites): Redesign:related is a visual listing of redesigns and refreshes. The Newseum is visual directory of the day's newspaper front covers from around the world.

Net Neutrality

What could be a worrying trend for users of the Internet is highlighted here. It discusses the prospect that big media companies, backed by big telecom companies, would like to see the Internet move away from a neutral stance whereby anybody is free to publish to the web. It could end with a two-speed Internet with the big corporations having access to the fast lane and everybody else would be relegated to the slow lane.

A note about this blog

If you have anything to say about any of the posts, pleeeease comment. Just click on the Comments link at the bottom of each entry.

Links to related articles or reference are in bold within the post. 

If you have any idesign-related item that may be interest to other readers (yes, I have quite a few now) please let me know.

Why design?

I saw this on Manhattanite via Design Observer and I thought, well, he's probably got a point. I've always thought that the line of work I'm in would mean that I would be on the "B" spaceship in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, along with telephone sanitizers and marketing executives.

But where would we be without well-designed products and good graphic design? Still walking along hilltops trying to work out the next identifiable landmark. Funnily enough, soon after I saw the above statement I saw this. 

Normal service has been resumed: Updated Type is Art link

Well hello. Sorry for the lack of posts, I've been on holiday. Sunning myself in Cyprus.

I'm back at work now. Here's a quick round up of what's been happening...

Creative

For the next couple of weeks I'm working in the Creative department of the company I work for. Doing a sort of job shadow type thing. As I've been working mainly in editorial for the past 15-or-so years I thought it would be good to see how the commercial side of things operate (even though I've been doing this sort fo thing for a while). In our company there is(was?) a them and us attitude between editorial designers and the Creative designers. Each side thinking they were better. So far, I have not experienced this. As far as I'm concerned, design is design, regardless of discipline. We should all support each other. There is too much pressure and competition from the non-design community for there to be tension within.

Anyway, yesterday was day one and I spent a really useful morning with one of the web designers, who critted my work. I found it really useful as so far I have only had feedback from marketing and editorial people. Thanks Mark.

Sexy things

A few other things have happened. I bought a digital camera. I opted for the Canon Sureshot G9 in the end (see post June 25). I am really please with the performance and results.

I also got my iPhone! FANTASTIC! Friday was an interesting day in the search for a 16Gb version. Got one delivered from the Carphone Warehouse in the end.

Largest Apple customer

One interesting snippet of news last week. Axel Springer, one of Europe's largest newspaper publishers, is moving it's entire workforce over to the Mac platform. 10,000 employees worldwide!

Photography exhibition

I went to a viewing of some photography yesterday. It was one of three that I had been invited to. I thought that this one might be a little different, even if the quality might not be great (my own preconceptions). I was impressed by the quality of the work. Some work being better quality than the endless stream of graduates and new start-ups that do the rounds now, wither by email or in person. The one thing that I found refreshing was the originality of the work, not the endless (tedious) stuff trying to emulate the latest fashion mags. These were good. I have to mention that the work was not at some exclusive venue in London, but at the Treloar College near Alton in Hampshire. The photographs were the final displays for the A-level and City & Guilds photography students. The students are all physically disabled.

Cool

And finally, a bit of fun. Take a look at this. Type is Art is a cool project by Jose Rodriguez where you can create art from parts of letterforms. I originally saw it on the I love typography site.

Food for thought

I had a conversation yesterday about design and the role of the designer and it got me thinking. I've mentioned before that everybody thinks they are a designer (or at least has a view on design). Well, this conversation verged on the "why do we need designers?" The equipment and software available means that anybody can design now. Templates are provided and it's easy.  This is a similar question that's been rumbling on for years about photographers: if cameras are no so smart and can, for example, correct lighting, camera shake, etc., why pay for a photographer to turn up with much the same equipment and take the pictures for you?

Well, if you went to Le Gavroche or The Fat Duck would you expect to cook the food yourself? (And don't get me started on the whole char-bar thing!) No, you'd expect some fantastically cooked and presented food from MIchel Roux Jr. and Heston Blumenthal respectively. The ingredients would be well-sourced and the menu put together in a well-thought out way. I would argue that a decent, professional designer (or photographer) is comparable. We have spent time training and learning, not just in using the tools of the trade – be it the Mac, the software or camera – but the stuff behind it. What the terminology means, composition, colour theory, type/design history, a chance to experiment and generally getting to know the subject inside out. We know what a baseline grid is and how to construct one, we know what kerning rules are. Most of us older ones know what knockout and overprint means. Some of us have even used a type scale.

A designer arrives at a decision through various conscious and subconscious factors. The decision we arrive at is (usually) better informed.

Going back to the chef/restaurant analogy: a design-led solution is like going to one of the restaurants mentioned above; a half-way house, where the client has a template but can vary the content within the framework such as add pics and change the length of copy, is like going to a fast food outlet such as McDonalds; and the final version where no designer is involved is like making a sandwich at home.

The point is, is that if you make a lot of sandwiches and visit fast-food restaurants a lot, you are really going to appreciate the visit to the Michelin-starred restaurant.

The client will also appreciate the higher quality as well.