IT’S A L-O-O-O-O-NG WAY from Rock Hill to Mumbai, but the internet makes neighbors of us all. So, when I announced last week that I was resuming page evaluations, Shashikumar Menon jumped in with four pages for us to review. I’m sure he’d welcome your thoughts as well as mine, so please jump in with your comments.
FROM SHASHIKUMAR: I am a creative person from Mumbai, India. I have worked with many national English dailies as Art Director and I would like your take on some of my work.
Thanks and regards
Shashikumar Menon
FROM ED: Nicely done! A super combination of photos, a map and good typography. I especially like the way the text flows out of the median wall in the photo. One small point: I’d have kept the photo captions to the right of each photo, allowing the pix to align to the left edge of the type.
FROM ED: I really like the idea of running the story—and the small sidebar—in a circle. The reversed black box, however, could be difficult to print and read (if it’s on newsprint). And the type in the circular sidebar could be tough to read, too. Those negatives noted, it’s still a bold attempt and I commend that.
FROM ED: I would not have run the headline in the blue, but this is one time I don’t object to the all-caps headline. All caps keeps the spacing even between all the lines of the head. The blue bleeds some of the impact of the headline, though it does link with the gradient screens. The skyline photo would have had more impact had it stretch across the bottom of the entire page. Still, it’s an effective page.
FROM ED: The teaser package at the top is very effective. The type seems a bit tight to the dish and the model art. I like the “LIST BITES” box. This is a very “magazine-y” look but it would work fine on any newspaper feature front.
Overall, those are excellent pages and I think any of us would be pleased had we designed them.
What about the rest of you? Thoughts? Criticisms? Anything to add?
Ed Henninger’s Blog 