mario garcia
The look of South America If you could use one word to describe Latin American newspaper, it would be creative. So it is no surprise to see so many Latin American newspapers among the top winners in international design contests. Countries with the best dailies to watch for their design are Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. In 1984, Roger Black and I collaborated on a remake of the Mexican daily Novedades taking it from a nine-column, black and white, textdriven broadsheet, to one of the earliest examples of a “tabloid” or magazine-style layout in newspapers. We increased the size of the photos and introduced a strong sans serif for headlines, accompanied by the classical Caslon, mixing them on the page. Much good has happened to Mexican newspaper design since then, and such dailies as Reforma, or Monterrey’s El Norte, are among the best designed newspapers in the world, truly “Mexican” in their approach to art and illustration. Distinct, too, are the newspapers of Brazil, with their front pages that serve entirely as navigation tools to the inside. Color palettes here are as bright as the colors on the facades of Rio's houses and, in many cases, as busy as its stadium during a World Cup match. Few newspapers anywhere carry the high level of illustrations that these dailies do. Standouts are: Folha de São Paulo, O Globo, Correio Brasilense, Zero Hora, O Povo and A Gazeta. One of the latest entries 124
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is Agora, a broadsheet with a tabloid feel, in populous São Paulo. The rest of South America offers a variety of visually appealing broadsheets. El Tiempo of Colombia must be studied for its use of an unorthodox three-section distribution, where sports and economic news share a section cover! In Peru, El Comercio has always maintained a classic look, but one that is updated regularly. El Comercio of Ecuador is similar, with great use of informational graphics. It is the Argentinean newspapers where one sees constant experimentation with color, graphics, story structuring and illustration. La Nacion and Clarin are excellent examples, but the provinces offer the most distinct uses of color and illustration, with La Gaceta, La Voz del interior, Uno, La Nueva Provincia, and El Liberal. The Caribbean is full of colorful dailies. In the Dominican Republic, check Listin Diario, El Siglo, and Ultima Hora. In Puerto Rico, El Nuevo Idea is one of the most successful experiments in a tabloid format. Central Americans like tabloids, and many visually appealing ones abound. El Salvador’s Prensa Libre and Diario de Hoy are the best. One does not have to know Spanish to get ideas and draw inspirations, all quite abundant here! 125
mario garcia
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Spanning the globe: Color, photography, typography, story structure, and size are change according to culture and climate. Some standouts from around the world: The Dallas Morning News (North America), Handelsblatt, Germany (Europe), The New Paper, Singapore (Asia), and La Gaceta, Tucuman, Argentina (Latin America.)
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