When most people think graphic design, newspapers aren’t what come to mind. It’s understandable – print journalism has lost the next generation of young readers, and with them the next generation of graphic designers and artists who might have once considered print news as a viable option for their considerable talents.
But it’s not the young readers that are to blame, it’s the old guard that is white-knuckling their $5,000 desks, more concerned with their summer homes than the evolution of their product. The industry desperately needs to innovate, and it’s going to be the 20-somethings out there that are going to do it.
So far, this post doesn’t match the title. That’s just bad post organization, but here’s the point: The industry needs to innovate in terms of design, and it shows.
The Society for News Design is the overlording third party that observes design trends in papers globally. It’s like the news designer’s equivalent of AIGA. Every year they put out a bigass publication in which they pick their world’s best designed papers for the previous year. They highlight several hundred pages in every issue, and it’s an excellent piece of parchment for news designers (or any graphic designer for that matter) looking for ideas. Why do I bring this up? Context. You see, American papers haven’t had much of a presence in the world’s best design list for a few years. Back in the late 90′s and early 2000′s, we were wrecking shop. Now, Europe and Latin America are ghosting us in the rankings. American newspapers will bounce back, they’ll figure it out, but they have to figure out in a hurry what an 18-35 year-old likes when it comes to design.
Now, I don’t pretend to know what every single paper out there looks like, and I imagine I’m omitting someone, but here are the papers I consider the world’s best designed:
The Virginian Pilot (U.S.) – Beautiful typography and heavy use of hairline typefaces, which I have an unhealty fondness for. Second to none in American news photography.
Excelsior (Mexico) – The publisher had an independent design firm fix a myriad of design daggers some time ago, and the result is gorgeous. Vibrant and good use of color, elegant typefaces and intimate photography dazzle.
The Guardian (England) – My favorite paper in the world. There is nothing their design crew can’t do, including perfectly meshing artistry and bold journalism. Their well-designed grid system seems restricting, but then you turn the page and some photo, or symbolic graphic makes you realize that that whole restrictive comment was moronic, even if it only existed in your head.
Akzia (Moscow) – This paper knows what a young audience wants. Their fronts are pretty much always posters and feature compelling photography. Their art borders on bizarre but drags you in, and they know how to use their designers in any situation, turning even a boring cell phone review into a treat for the eyes.
