“If you don’t push yourself, if you don’t dare to make today better than yesterday; if you don’t believe in progress, you’re doomed to defeat.”That’s the motive behind the Globe and Mail’s redesign – to attempt to reinvent the future rather than long for the old days, explained John Stackhouse editor-in-chief for the Globe and Mail.
Last Friday, the Globe launched “the most significant redesign in The Globe’s history.” It has colour on every page, some pages are printed on glossy paper, the size of the paper is narrower (which is a huge bonus for those who ride the bus to work or school everyday), the website is easier to navigate and it’ll be featuring more in-depth stories that explore the power and insight of ideas.
But the million dollar question is: Is the redesign effective and will it help save the future of the Globe’s print edition?
I think the layout portion of the redesign is effective in the sense that its use of colour helps draw readers in and because their switch in paper makes for much clearer pictures. Many readers have become lazy. They want to see pictures to peak their interest before committing to the story – so the crisper the better. And need I mention the smaller size again?
However, I question how much easier their new web design really is? I don’t think I’d have noticed the change had I not read the article in Friday’s paper. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
As to whether or not the redesign will help save the Globe’s future as a newspaper (because despite the fact that Stackhouse outlines all the ways The Globe is growing in readership, he seems to suggest saving their future is what they’re getting at when he says they’re not interested in prolonging the past but rather inventing the future) I think they’ve nailed my biggest concern for reasons why newspapers could flop – they’re trying to be what they used to be: about breaking news. The fact that the Globe recognizes print needs to be more in-depth makes them that much more competitive than other daily’s – in my opinion at least.
Overall, it’s nice to see the Globe realizes two things: (1) That print journalism should be investing in in-depth stories, because that’s where its future is heading – we have other outlets now for breaking news. (2) Hallelujah! The damn paper ain’t so clunky! Finally, a paper that realizes how many Canadians ride a bus or subway to work (excluding old fashioned, gas guzzling Winnipeg of course) and hate having to close up their paper just because someone sits next to them.
I give only checkmarks to John Stackhouse and the Globe team for realizing it’s time for a bit of tweaking.
To see what else the Globe and Mail did with their redesign, check out John Stackhouse's article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/community/digital-lab/a-new-globe-in-print-and-online/article1735935/?cmpid=rss1
I think it's a much more sleek design. From a design perspective, colour is good in the face of waning attention.
ReplyDeleteBTW- I never thought I'd use the word 'sleek' to define a newspaper. Oy vey.
Haha, ooh the things that excite us as communications people! To be honest, I never thought I'd be writing a blog about my excitment over a newspaper's redesign...
ReplyDeleteRedesigning a print pub? What's the point?
ReplyDelete