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The other day, I mentioned how a well-designed vertical package can really make a front page sing.
Do you hear that? Yep, another front page is singing today. This time the page belongs to The Patriot Ledger.
The package updates readers on the Neponset bridge, which connects Quincy and Boston. And it's presented as an ASF to boot. Super!
The nice vertical shot by staffer Greg Derr — check out his fantastic photo blog here — complements the light poles that fill the height of the photo. A hue of the sky is used for the background, giving the package nice impact.
Couple things to point out:
• The shaded background negates the need for the vertical rule separating the rail from the centerpiece. The tint does a fine job of that.
• Love the ASF approach, but the text is a bit choppy down there. I would have argued to keep the vertical feel from top to bottom by using four vertical text boxes. Doing so would have minimized the shorter second leg of type in the four blurbs. Like this:
I made these changes in Photoshop, so it's not perfect. I also don't have the same headline fonts for the four items at bottom, so I used bureau grot condensed bold. The text in four individual columns gives the package a cleaner look. I cropped the width of the photo slightly to make it more narrow. Enlarging a narrower photo makes it deeper, helping to fill out the package.
The Web extra item uses the same elements, excdept for the dotted rule, which wasn't needed in his horizontal position.
You'll notice I removed the vertical rule at left.
Despite these small changes, this page is a keeper. Nicely done!
Joe Greco is corporate design director for GateHouse Media.
Contact him at jgreco@gatehousemedia.com.
Missed front page of the day? Find the archive here.
When it comes to newspaper design, our Corporate Design Director Joe Greco knows the score. He brings his award-winning eye to pages created by GateHouse newspapers and other industry design leaders. Look for best practices and lots of tips to enhance your own design.
