Newspaper Design: Why has it barely changed in 200 years?

We continuously hear about the death of the newspaper due to the never ending march of technology. Yet there are still many of us that look forward to flipping over the daily newspaper first thing in the morning.

Certainly circulation is down in most regions of the world;

Yet is the newspaper dead?

Newspaper barons the world over are clamouring over each other; changing business models, downsizing staff, thinking about charging for web access. Yet I haven’t heard anyone mentioning redesigning the layout of the newspaper.

Humans are visual creatures and these days more than ever we are used to being surrounded by visually dynamic designs. Things that move, light up, flash, jump, sing; all captivate audiences. Everything from our phones to computers, even our couches have a major impact on our expectation of what design is and how it surrounds us in our everyday life.

Yet the Newspaper Design & its layout has remained the fairly similar for well over a 150 years. Mainly Black and white print, pixelated photos, standard column layouts, with photos used in the same ways time and again. And that doesn’t even go into the content!

Yet could newspaper design be overhauled graphically even more?

I will leave it to a far greater expert than I: Jacek Utko

Jacek is a Polish Newspaper Art Director who has redesigned newspapers across Eastern Europe. Not only has he won awards but he’s actually increased circulation right when every other western newspaper is in rapid decline.

For those that are too impatient to view the talk- The Takeaway:

• Design improved the product
• Design can change the Company
• Design can change workflow
• Design can change you

In today’s visual society something that is eye catching & piques your curiosity will always have the upper hand.

If you’re interested in reading more on this topic head over to Jacek Utko’s personal website.