1. WHY
REDESIGN?
MORE THAN PRETTY: RETHINKING THE ROLE OF
YOUR PUBLICATION

2. WHAT DO YOU HOPE
TO ACCOMPLISH?
Take a minute to answer the following:
• What do your readers think about your publication?
• What do you want your publication to be? How would you
want your readers to describe it?
• Describe your reader. How do they read?
• What news sources do your readers currently enjoy
(twitter, yahoo news, magazines, newspapers, etc.) How
can you incorporate the success of these “news sources”
into your publication?
• How do you merge these lists?

3. REDESIGN MEANS:
Rethinking your content and design strategies
It DOESN’T mean JUST making your publications LOOK
PRETTY
Start with WHY your redesigning, then think about HOW to
redesign
CONTENT MUST COME FIRST!

4. FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
Your content should be the MOST important part of your
publication!
So…
• Think about how you are telling stories now (features, hard
news, editorials, etc.)
• How can that be better based on how your readers read (think
twitter, yahoo news, YouTube, instagram, magazine bullets/
quizzes, alternative coverage, etc.)?
• Visuals- think info graphics!!!!!!
• “chunking”- think lists, stats, small, short bio boxes, etc.
• Shorter stories/ Broken-up stories- think long captions, bios.

5. ALTERNATIVE COVERAGE!!!!
All of those “new” forms of story telling: visuals, chunking,
shorter stories, equal….
MORE ALTERNATIVE COVERAGE
Great examples of alternative coverage in the form of info
graphics can be found at http://www.visual.ly.com
TAKE A FEW MINUTES…
What, if any, alternative coverage or packaging techniques
are you currently incorporating into your publication?
Are they successful? Why or why not? What can you do to
make them more successful?

6. INFO GRAPHIC EXAMPLES:
STEVE JOBS
INFO GRAPHIC
HALLOWEEN COSTUME
INFO GRAPHIC

7. THE BOTTOM LINE:
YES! We want our redesigned publication to be visually
pleasing! BUT most importantly we MUST rethink the way we
are presenting our content!
TAKE A COUPLE MINUTES…
What is one unique way you could present content in your
newspaper next year?
How could you incorporate this idea into your redesign
strategy?

8. THE PROFESSIONALS
High School newspapers are not the only publications who
look to redesign themselves- professional papers do it too.
As with high school papers, professionals seek to not only
change their look but also create a publication that is more
reader oriented and attractive.
A SUCCESSFUL REDESIGN = INCREASED READERSHIP

9. The Kansas City Star before
its 2009 redesign. The Star
looked to add multiple forms
of alternative coverage
presented in more fun, easy
to read packaging.
Each section was color-
coded to help ease
navigation. Graphics were
incorporated throughout to
enhance the overall look of
the paper and help draw the
viewers’ eyes. EVERYTHING
in their redesign was done
with the readers in mind.
KANSAS CITY STAR REDESIGN

10. KANSAS CITY STAR REDESIGN

11. KANSAS CITY STAR REDESIGN

12. KANSAS CITY STAR REDESIGN

13. KANSAS CITY STAR REDESIGN

14. KANSAS CITY STAR REDESIGN

15. The Oklahoman before its
2008 redesign.
The Oklahoman created a
more cohesive, easy to
understand color palette for
their paper. The paper also
packaged all stories and
content in a simple, easy to
follow grid format. The new
design relies on eye lines to
help focus the readers’
attention.
THE OKLAHOMAN REDESIGN

16. THE OKLAHOMAN REDESIGN

17. THE OKLAHOMAN REDESIGN

18. The Chicago Tribune before
its 2008 redesign.
The new Tribune uses eye
lines and dominance to help
direct the readers’ attention
to the content. Color was
also used as a way of
organizing the paper by
section.
THE CHICAGO
TRIBUNE REDESIGN

19. THE CHICAGO
TRIBUNE REDESIGN

20. THE CHICAGO
TRIBUNE REDESIGN

21. YOUR TURN-
PACEMAKER REDESIGNS
In groups of 2-3 look at the following links (each links you to a 2011
Pacemaker Newspaper). Choose two (or three) papers to critique:
http://issuu.com/granitebaygazette/docs/vol14issue8
http://issuu.com/fhnpublications/docs/aprilnorthstar2012/48
http://issuu.com/davidwinteratl/docs/the_southerner__henry_w_grady_hs__issue_4_early_ed
http://issuu.com/ecollegian/docs/11.08.11
http://issuu.com/crwashsurveyor/docs/crwashsurveyormay2012
http://issuu.com/mitcheden/docs/the_kirkwood_call__issue_7
http://issuu.com/fhcpublications/docs/feb2011
http://issuu.com/smtexas/docs/may_2012
http://issuu.com/op86/docs/7.20_issue
http://issuu.com/rochestertalon/docs/march_talon_2011
http://issuu.com/hilite/docs/8.9_issue

22. SOURCES:
www.visual.ly.com
http://kellyfrankeny.blogspot.com/2009/01/express-times.html
http://laurenmichell.com/2008/10/update-chicago-tribune-
redesigns-drops-trib-rumor/