WHY NEWS DESIGN MATTERS:

Key ideas of the text:

- It is unrealistic to think of a good newspaper without also thinking of a strong,

consistent, and appealing visual approach.
- Fundamental issue: design as a tool to transform a news organization and, by
extension, as a strategic factor for innovation.
- Creative design is only possible in an organization that has been designed creatively;
publishers are the true journalistic designers.
- There was a consensus in 1988 by visionaries that thought that print newspapers
would not disappear, but that they would be better organized and would definitively be
in colour, that technology would change everything, and that the news staff would take
on the majority of the production tasks, which would affect creativity.
- In 1999 they looked at 1988 prediction and share new for the next 20 years:
personalized newspapers in both print and digital form, newspapers distributed at any
hour of the day, highly reduced formats, hyper-local publications, newspapers made to
seem more like magazines, and the presence of advertising on the front page.
- The function of the designer today is to be a true storyteller.
- With the arrival of technology came the change in roles: designers began calling
themselves art directors and took over other colleagues’ jobs.
- It says that storytelling will always remain at the root of journalism, with visual
journalism becoming an essential factor in the reinvention of newspapers. It suggests
that a strong, consistent, and appealing visual approach is essential for a good
newspaper today.

Five to ten phrases that summarize the most important of this text.

1. Visual journalism is essential for the correct presentation of the news and can enhance
the impact and comprehension of a story.
2. Closing print edition would mean less visibility, less credibility, and a loss in revenue.
3. Today the boundaries between design and technology are highly blurred.
4. We need to become more comfortable without photographers, videographers, and
graphic editors playing the primary role covering some stories, rather than a secondary
role.
5. Legibility, clarity, order, and, of course, emotion: it is time to defend that which humbly,
clearly, and transparently contributes to reinforcing the journalistic ideals essential for
us all.
6. The best designers, and therefore designs, are not those actively seeking a leading role,
but those who let the story have the starring role.
7. The true mission: to depict reality and help people understand it.