Pages from: Jennifer Annis | The Greer Citizen

WE’VE SEEN A FEW pages from Jennifer during the past weeks, and this is the last of the batch…though she promises to send more over time.

FROM JENNIFER:

Hi Ed,

I have one more special section to send to you. We recently put together a very small marching band tab.

Unfortunately, we did not have much advanced notice when creating the tab. We thought it would be a part of the features section and found out the week before it was going to be a special section.

Complicating matters a bit, the tab was completed before the first night of football, which meant the only photos we had were some old file photos and summer band camp practice pics.

Ultimately, we were pleased with the outcome and look forward to making improvements in next year’s tab (when we have more planning time).

Thanks for taking the time to look at our work. We love checking your blog each week, and we’ve discussed making an effort to send in more pages for comments in the future.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Annis

FROM ED:

1. I like the arrangement of the photos…and the fact that you gave the bottom photo really good size.

2. How about a bit of negative space around the outside edges of the page?

3. I’m not at all turned on by the “Making Music” font. Another example of why I try to outlaw them in my redesigns. Blecccchhhh!

FROM ED:

1. Top right corner of the page is busy, with the quote, the Did you know? box and the eagle art.

2. I like the list in the left rail. Good way to handle this content.

3. Nice photo arrangement.

4. Please use either a .5-point frame OR the soft shadow…not both.

5. Again with the funky font. Sorry, it makes this page (and the front) look amateurish, and I know you’re better than that. Again…blecccchhhh!

Comments from the rest of you? What do you think?

 

 

Pages from: Jennifer Annis | The Greer Citizen

LAST WEEK WE SAW a couple of front pages sent by Jennifer. This week: two sports fronts and an inside sports page. A quick note from Jennifer follows, then the pages and some comments from Ed.

FROM JENNIFER: (The inside page) was a special page we created when a new business opened in the area. We thought it would be neat to feature a sport other than football. Of course, football received its due on the front page of the section!

FROM ED:

1. The ganged caption is a negative. It forces readers to go back and forth, each time having to find the next photo and then the next caption and then the next photo and then the…you get the idea. It’s an approach that may work well for us—but not for readers.

2. The big bubble in the middle means the photos (seems the me they need to dominate) have to be kept small. I think is is inverted thinking.

3. The story doglegs. Uggghhhhh.

4. The page feels overdesigned, like someone was just trying too hard.

FROM ED:

1. Really like the idea of running the heat chart. Makes the story more credible and more real for readers.

2. Very good lead photo.

3. “Young…” head is too close too caption, a bit too far from top of story. Spacing needs adjustment here.

FROM ED:

1. Overall a sound page. Clear and easy to follow.

2. Really bad orphan at the end of the caption on the lead photo.

 

So…Ed leaves only a few comments. But he’s also leaving the door wide open for others. What are your thoughts? Comments? Let fly!

 

 

Pages from: Jennifer Annis | The Greer Citizen

A FEW WEEKS AGO, we received a few pages from a preps football preview prepared by editors and designers at The Greer Citizen. The pages caused quite a stir because of the innovative and stylish approach to the section. In short, comments from blog readers ranged from “ooooohhhh” to “aaaaahhhh” and some of you mentioned that you’d like to see more.

I contacted Jennifer and asked her to send a few pages so…here’s more. We’ll follow up over the coming weeks with additional pages from Greer.

FROM JENNIFER:

Hey Ed,

We decided to take you at your word and send you some pages from The Greer Citizen. We chose a few samples of each section so you can get an idea of what we’ve been doing recently. We would really appreciate any suggestions you have to improve.

For A1.8.25.10, we did not have any centerpiece art. Our main story was about a council meeting that has caused a small controversy in the area, so we created a CP out of mugs and text. We’d love to know how you would have done it.

Thanks,

Jennifer Annis

The Greer Citizen

Page Designer

Here’s the page Jennifer mentions in her note, with comments from Ed. Then another page and comments.

FROM ED:

1. Not sure the headline needs a comma after “To sell.”

2. I like the package, though I’m not turned on by the idea of just plain mug shots. Perhaps they could have been cut out in Photoshop?

3. It’s difficult to do something that looks balanced when you’re faced with five vs. two units. I think I would have placed the five mugs all across under the headline, with the story below those five mugs and then the two mugs with the quote and the “question that will appear…” at the bottom of the package. I think what bothers me most is that there are four-and-one mugs at the top instead of five.

4. I’d have cropped the mugs more tightly top and bottom. Some wasted space on most of them.

OK…with all of that said, I still think it was the right thing to do. Especially because you didn’t have any centerpiece art. A lesson learned: Always have one or two timeless centerpieces “in the can,” so you can pull one out and place it on the page when you don’t get art you were expecting. Nothing wrong with a feature for a centerpiece.

•

FROM ED:

1. I really like the centerpiece here, giving good photos a good ride. The numbers make the package more interesting.

2. But…NEVER EVER EVER put a pun quotes. It’s an insult to your readers. Those readers who get it will like the pun even more—and those who don’t get it won’t get it with or without the quotes. Again…NEVER EVER EVER put a pun quotes.

3. It looked too tight but I couldn’t be sure without testing…so I tested: The centerpiece headline is scaled to 70 percent. Style for The Greer Citizen is 85% scale—taking it to 70% overdoes it. Points off for that.

4. Bad widow at the top of the second leg in the motorcycle story.

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That’s it from Ed. How about the rest of you? Share your thoughts and your suggestions with Jennifer.