5 Principles of Web Design And News Design That Work Together
News design is essentially the act of arranging content on a typical newspaper page, according to graphical and editorial guidelines and objectives. Main editorial objectives include the arrangement of news stories in accordance with the chronological order, while other graphical considerations include balance and readability, as well as their appearance on the page. This type of design has many diverse aspects that must be considered when making layouts for the print paper. These factors include:
o Visual interest. News readers are highly visual people. They spend a vast amount of time being entertained and informed by the news. This means that graphic design needs to have an attention-grabbing quality that will compel people to read the story over the next line or two. When considering the use of images and pictures, only those that convey a direct meaning in relation to the context of the specific story should be used.
o Audience appeal. The target audience for a particular story is an essential part of the entire news design process. There are many different age groups and demographics that respond to different types of formats and layouts, thus a well-designed piece will appeal to readers regardless of their demographic. A common mistake when it comes to web design for newspapers is to use layouts and formats that are exclusive to the print media. An easy way to avoid this problem is to have a clear discussion about the intended audience with the web designer.
o Creativity. Many newspapers employ the services of freelance designers and developers who specialize in news design and graphics. While this strategy allows the newspaper to control costs, it also limits the range and creativity that can be implemented into the final project. Many newspapers choose to outsource their graphic design requirements to freelancers and digital media artists. However, the Internet has opened up new avenues for newspapers and other media businesses that can easily find qualified freelance designers and developers. The advantage of this strategy is that designers can use their creativity to help develop the website and build functionality that is needed by the paper.
o Editions. Newsletters and magazines are traditionally published as inserts within the paper that are available throughout the month. Many newspapers have also started publishing their news design and layout on the online platform called iReader. The iPad, however, has prevented newspapers from fully exploiting this feature, so they have relied on other means such as advertising space and displaying video content within the news layout.
The fifth principle is readership and reader loyalty. In today’s world, it is very difficult to retain customers. Readers today expect to find something of value, be it information, entertainment or social media links, on the first and second page of the search engine results. A well-designed website with all of these things available is a surefire way to increase the number of new subscriptions. This is why web design and news design work so well together in promoting subscriptions and increasing the reading gravity.