Redesign mission statement By Kent Marts, Matt Snyder, Terry Tucker, Don Groves and Lucas Roebuck Benton County Daily Record Editorial Team MISSION The mission of our 2000 newspaper redesign is to create an updated, professional look to better serve our readership and better promote the mission of CPI, to be the leading source of news and information in the communities we serve. Our redesign must speak to the first principle of the CPI mission statement, in applying "the highest standards of quality and service in the sale, production and distribution of our products and services." GOALS I. Create a design that will improve reader usability II. Create a design that will be easy to execute well every day III. Create design that enhances the editorial content IV. Create a design that defines the newspaper's placement Goal I: Create a design that will improve usability. Here are some of the strategies we will use to make the paper more user-friendly: 1. Change the body copy and agate font to a face that is easier to read. Many of our readers are elderly and have poor eyesight. Increased readability will make the copy more accessible to them. Also, we will be able to save space by fitting more words per line. 2. Use visual teasers in the nameplate. Users should be able to glance at the teasers and get an idea of what is going on inside. Text-only teasers cannot convey information as quickly as combinations of text and graphics can. Teasers also can help create an information hierarchy, so readers will instantly know the highlights of the paper. This may draw some occasional readers to sections they might not always read. 3. Add decks to stories as often as possible. A deck -- a full sentence that summarizes the news or adds key elements of story information not in the headline -- improves usability by allowing the reader to get a better feel for a story before they begin reading it. Also, decks open up the page and add visual elements. 4. Create a headline hierarchy system. The headlines must tell the reader what is most important, and should be flexible enough to support tricky news days, when there are two or three distinctly important stories. Goal II. Create a design that will be easy to execute on a daily basis Because our editorial and production staffs do not have unlimited time or resources, we will implement and enforce these strategies so that the production of the redesigned paper is as smooth as possible: 1. Sandbagging "Sandbagging" refers to creating "timeless" features that have art. We will prepare the cutouts for those photo teasers ahead of time, so that when we have a day without other options, we will have this work already prepared. 2. Use AP photos We expect to use AP photos for two-thirds of the teaser photos because of the availability and consistent quality of the pictures. 3. Set early teaser deadline We will have a 5 p.m. meeting of the editorial team on the desk each day to determine what photos will go into the teasers and to write the teaser copy. 4. Use QuarkXPress features – baseline grid, align, auto constrain QuarkXPress has many features that help designers line up elements quickly. We will train and enforce the use of the baseline grid, align, and auto constrain. 5. Use pica conformity We will use a pure pica system for measuring widths. Inches will remain the vertical standard. 6. Use and enforce design stylebook We will create a design stylebook and will enforce its use among designers. 7. Create a library We will create a library of commonly used elements so designers can quickly construct these elements with minimal effort. Goal III. Create design that enhances the editorial content We want to add editorial value with our design by enhancing and adding to the information available in the copy and graphics. Content ultimately sells papers, and we will promote and improve content with the redesign. 1. Decks Decks are story summaries written in complete sentences. They are offset by design from the rest of the story. They provide a second entry point into the story and an additional way to summarize the story. Decks also can emphasize a secondary angle of a story. 2. Teasers Using the visual teasers in the nameplate will add editorial value, and create a chance to run more pictures to provide additional entry points into the editorial content. 3. A headline style set that adds to the editorial value and helps readers see hierarchy Readers should be able to look on page one and know what is the most important story, second most important, etc. 4. Use of refers, keyword tags When appropriate, we will use refers and keyword tags to link readers to other similar information. Goal IV. Create a design that defines the newspaper's product placement Can we create a design that's professional, stable, credible, refined, friendly, classy, local, conservative, and fresh? This is not something we could qualify in a set of strategies and motives, but here are our top-line thoughts. 1. Placement versus newspapers The design should make us look as professional as the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and as visually appealing as the Tulsa World. These newspapers are our regional competitors. 2. Placement versus television news The design should speak to our strengths against the local TV news – more depth. While a TV station may get the story at 5 p.m and we don't have it in the paper till next morning, we will have it with more depth, more accuracy, and better analysis than TV can package into a two-minute segment. 3. Placement versus the Internet Our design should complement our Internet efforts even though we tweak our content for online use. This can be as simple as displaying our Web site address on page one and our reporters' email addresses in their bylines. Creating access to our news staff via the Internet is key.

“When we heard the publisher was going to bring in a design consultant, we all rolled our eyes. My not-so-gracious thoughts on the subject were that consultants are guys we pay out the nose for, only to ignore their advice – always what the publisher wanted to hear – the moment they board the plane home. When Alan came to our site, however, he blew all my consultant stereotypes out of the proverbial waters. The man knows newspapers, and he knows the pitfalls of the redesign process. He wasn't afraid to challenge our notions and ask the hard questions. He didn't just help us make our paper look great, but his pragmatic, hands-on guidance helped our paper read great. Alan knows that content is king and that great design is only great if it is packaging great content. Alan was a pleasant straight-shooter who defused egos and took a lot of the pain out of the redesign process. The bottom line for me is that our readers have a better paper because of Alan's efforts.” – Lucas Roebuck, Benton County Daily Record