Before its latest overhaul in 1998, the most recent redesign of the Washington Post was completed in 1984, directed by designers Milton Glaser and Walter Bernard. The design had remained pretty much the same in the intervening years. It has worked well, looked elegant, and reflected the spirit and content of the paper.
With a daily circulation of 811,925, the Post is the fifth largest daily in the country and enjoys a dedicated readership and a solid history. Like The Wall Street Journal, the paper is a classic. And when Michael Keegan,AME/News Art, and Wendy Ross, AME/News, took on the job of redesigning the newspaper in their newsroom in 1997, they had to pay attention to the tradition and identity of the paper. While improving the look, making the paper more readable, and helping the reader navigate through the various sections, they had to maintain the identity of the paper and make the new design reflect the content which was strong and powerful.
WHY CHANGE?
The Post, like The Journal, was making mechanical changes. They were getting new presses in 2000 that would force the reduction of the physical size of their page to 50 inches. The new presses would also allow color to be introduced on all section fronts and on some inside pages. These changes gave Keegan and Ross the opportunity to think about what other changes could take place. They started with a philosophy:
The Washington Post already had a strong visual identity in its careful combination of words and images, its clarity in its presentation, its look of reputability and the belief that words are valued. It’s a writer’s newspaper.
In the redesign, they wanted to keep these elements as the guiding philosophy. So, much of the redesign involved subtle improvements that enhanced the content of the paper. In other words, they decided to ‘refine’ rather than ‘redesign.’ They wanted to retain the “Postness” of the paper. And, content was of utmost importance.
WHAT CHANGED
Sections in sequence: With the new presses, the sections of the paper were able to be printed and put together in a consistent
way. Before the redesign, the sections were not in the same order each day.
The main headline face: Bodoni was retained as the main headline face. It was recognizable as ‘The Washington Post font’. It was often referred to in the newsroom as “Postdoni.” Matthew Carter redrew the face for the redesign, refining the elegant typeface with subtle changes.
Giza was added to the typographic palette and was used sparingly. The heavier weight and square serifs contrasted but complimented the Bodoni, and its weight provided an eye-catching navigational device to pull the reader into important features in the pages such as Briefs, and Columnists.
Poynter Gothic Condensed text was introduced in letters, advice columns and lists.
Section logos were redesigned with more white space built in. Large, all cap, Didot headline type was used. The design opened up the top of the pages. Teasers, in the section logos, became less cluttered.
General changes occurred in the comic pages, the weather page, and agate lists. The Post‘s extensive comics were reorganized and expanded from three pages to four, making room for advertising. The weather page was moved to the back page of the Metro section, expanded and run in color. Agate lists in Financial and Sports were excepted from the general decree to cut text by 10 percent. These lists were considered too valuable to readers to diminish.
Century Oldstyle had been the text face used in The Post. With the reduction of width in the new redesign, Keegan wanted to adjust the type so that it could be run in a more narrow width, while still remaining very readable. The Font Bureau redrew the face calling it ‘Postroman.’ Text that previously sat 12 picas wide now could fit in an 11 pica wide column. It had a slightly higher x-height and overall, making it look bigger and easier to read.
The color palette of The Post is similar to The Journal – diluted, sophisticated tones that are subtle and restrained. Color draws the eye to important elements, is used strategically to enhance the content of stories.
The palette consists of about 15 colors. But getting the color right is not an easy task. Keegan says they are adjusting the colors all the time to get them just right. He advises limiting the number of colors in a color palette. If you don’t, people over do it, and are tempted to over colorize the pages.
[Mario Garcia and Pegie Stark Adam are affilliates of the Poynter faculty in visual journalism. Mario Garcia’s design firm, Garcia.Media, was the consultant to The Wall Street Journal on the project described in these articles. Pegie Stark Adam joined Garcia.Media after the Journal project was commissioned and was not a principal in the project.]
