mario garcia
Redesign while you still look good A nervous publisher once asked me, “When is it time to redesign your newspaper?” The answer to this question is not always easy, but is quite consistent. Many of the editors and publishers who call me do so when their publication has had a dramatic drop in circulation or when a competitor moves in. Sometimes when new editors arrive, they want to innovate, to put their own visual stamp on the newspaper. While all of these reasons may be valid, a redesign really should be a continuous process in the life of a publication, and should not be prompted by dramatic events. More than before, change is essential for a newspapers and magazines to survive. The competition is fierce. Readers are bombarded by more information than they can possibly process. Papers can’t afford to wait until they look so out of date that they’re losing readers. The best redesigns happen when publications still look good. They’re looking ahead to the next five years.
34
pure design
When beautiful turns better: Liberation, every designer’s choice of one of the world’s most visually appealing dailies, was turning thirty and wanted to change its look. What to do when one starts with an aesthetic winner? The Garcia-Media team first reviewed the history of the legendary Parisian newspaper, then conducted workshops to review ways of integrating that rich past into a more interesting presentation of the news and features.
35