“Always an innovator”

Image contributed by our reader Alexandre Linhares Giesbrecht: last edition of JB in print, as seen in the press kiosk—-photo by Márcia Foletto/O Globo

Images from JB Digital: subscribers can flip through screens to read the newspaper online

Much has been written about Jornal do Brasil in the past 72 hours.

On Sept. 1, the legendary Brazilian daily abandoned ink on paper to become an “online newspaper” only.  The newspaper that in its glory days sold about 150,000 copies a day was now seeling a mere 21,000.  If you go online, you will find that the newspaper is now branded as JB Digital. It also promotes itself as “the first Brazilian newspaper on the Internet,“ a true claim which some bloggers tie to the innovative spirit of JB, forecasting that perhaps this, the first Brazilian daily to go totally digital may signal the way of things to come for other newspapers in the country.  One blogger wrote: “Jornal do Brasil has always been a true innovator, could it be that this is also another form of setting the trend for the rest of us?“.

For me, personally, Jornal do Brasil brings the memories of my first consulting work in Brazil.  It was 1979 and I was invited by then publisher (and a member of the family that owned JB) , Jose do Nacimiento Brito, to come “take a look at our newspaper and see how we could make it look better”.  I entered the JB building and was impressed by the activity, the effervescence, and the quality of the illustrators who created marvelous caricatures and illustrations as fast as they could down those little cups of strong Brazilian coffee.  It was not a full scale redesign, mostly an organization of typographic scheme, a remodeling of the front page and the creation of a more “poster like” front page for the Lifestyle and Entertainment section.

As I read what account to obituaries for JB I see the irony of the situation: columnists mourn the “death” of JB, although, in fact, the newspaper continues, but on a different platform.  One columnist described JB’s history as “ a century of glory and two decades of agony”.

If you ask me, I think this is one of at least three modes of operation we will see in the next five years for newspapers worldwide.

1. The printed newspaper as part of multiplatform: this will be the most usual mode, in my view.  The newspaper will adapt and will change role dramatically, but without ceasing to print.  As in the case of the Detroit Free Press, we will see printing of the newspaper on some days of the week, not others.

2. The printed newspaper as part of a weekend package only.  This is what The Christian Science Monitor has done: ink on paper only for weekends, and a daily online edition.

3. The online/tablet newspaper: in this model, chosen by Jornal do Brasil, we see no printed product at all, but publication continues digitally only.

The spirit and journalistic tradition of Jornal do Brasil are still here.  I refuse to think that this is the way all newspapers will end. Not at all, but it will be one of the options that publishers facing hard times will have.  It is not a solution that will work for all——and, indeed, not for many, I am sure.

One of our readers in Brazil, Alexandre Linhares Giesbrecht, wrote me the following reminiscence about JB:

In 1994, when I started following newspapers more closely, I bought JB at least once a week for a few months. It really looked dated for the times. Its printing was way behind the others, with very few color pages, and those color pages printed really poorly. That was my only regular contact with the paper. The only other impression I got from it was the curious way they used photo credits: they didn’t limit it to the author and/or agency; they added the city where the picture was taken. I don’t know if they still did it in 2010, but at least in 2002 they did.

Read more (in Portuguese):
http://oglobo.globo.com/economia/mat/2010/08/31/o-adeus-ao-jornal-do-brasil-apos-119-anos-um-dos-diarios-mais-importantes-do-pais-deixa-de-existir-na-sua-versao-em-papel-917524544.asp

The Mario Blog post #622

To read the case study of L’Ordenateur in Spanish, see the Garcia Media Latinoamerica blog, and Rodrigo Fino’s commentary:
http://www.garcia-media.com.ar/blog/post/dos-en-uno-a-la-francesa/121

Colorful, informative, needed

img src=“http://garciamedia.com/images/blog/actualite_thumb.png” style=“border:0;“ alt=“blog post image” width=“449” height=“610” />

Make it colorful, distinctive, contemporary and blend the two mags nicely!

That is how our briefing went with the team of L’Ordinateur, with one important addition: let’s bring the best of that other French computer magazine, svm, to L’Ordinateur.  The svm was on its way out, with bits and pieces of it coming to L’Ordinateur.

For us at Garcia Media no challenge is too big, and sometimes the bigger the better and more energizing.  Working with my team of two superlative art directors, Frederic Plá, of our French team, and Paula Ripoll, senior art director at Garcia Media Latinoamerica in Buenos Aires,, we started sketching but only after we had gone through that difficult, but important, process of reviewing content, pacing it from page to page, and deciding when to allow for long narratives, when to interrupt with more “finger reading” style pages. L’Ordenadeur art director is Olivier Brault

A difficult part of the process was to design all those listings of products and prices, plus reviews and comparisons of projects.  We decided that the typography would be key for this type of finger reading.  And we used color advantageously to color code sections and create what I described as “mini magazines” within the magazine.

Computer magazines, we found out, are a different breed from the general interest or single subject magazines.

The die hard techies who read these publications want it all: the specifics of products, the pricing and comparisons, but they want to sink their teeth into good interviews, expert columns, not to mention narratives about what is coming and what the products will look like.  A tall order, indeed, for the designer.

So, this is how we distributed the work from the start:

1. Content Review:  what is coming from svm that must be preserved and presented lively on L’Ordinateur.

2. Content Pacing: what sections should come first, second and third, and how can we establish a good visual symphony that will allow the reader to sample long narratives, then take a visual break with pages of short items and tons of finger readings: violins and trombones.

3. Typographic considerations:  Type had to be orchestrated perfectly well, to create variety, but to make the small type of listings and comparisons between products extremely legible.  Add to that the fact that we wanted to remind readers of svm of their magazine, while introducing them to a new publication.  The fonts used are: Vitesse, Heroun Sans (headlines and small boxes and/or briefs;  Dot Matrix (variations, small box headlines, ornaments); Commodore 64 (accessories) and Escrow text (bodytext).

4. Color Coding: Each of the various sections has a specific color to identify it throughout, contributing to easy navigation but also to how we created the “mini magazine” concept, as if the sections are magazines themselves, complete with navigational details and promos to stories in that section.

Visit website:
http://www.01net.com/outils/PseudoV6?base=grandpublic&pseudo=oi&rub=10481

TheMarioBlog post #622

Colorful, informative, needed

img src=“http://garciamedia.com/images/blog/actualite_thumb.png” style=“border:0;“ alt=“blog post image” width=“449” height=“610” />

Make it colorful, distinctive, contemporary and blend the two mags nicely!

That is how our briefing went with the team of L’Ordinateur, with one important addition: let’s bring the best of that other French computer magazine, svm, to L’Ordinateur.  The svm was on its way out, with bits and pieces of it coming to L’Ordinateur.

For us at Garcia Media no challenge is too big, and sometimes the bigger the better and more energizing.  Working with my team of two superlative art directors, Frederic Plá, of our French team, and Paula Ripoll, senior art director at Garcia Media Latinoamerica in Buenos Aires,, we started sketching but only after we had gone through that difficult, but important, process of reviewing content, pacing it from page to page, and deciding when to allow for long narratives, when to interrupt with more “finger reading” style pages. L’Ordenadeur art director is Olivier Brault

A difficult part of the process was to design all those listings of products and prices, plus reviews and comparisons of projects.  We decided that the typography would be key for this type of finger reading.  And we used color advantageously to color code sections and create what I described as “mini magazines” within the magazine.

Computer magazines, we found out, are a different breed from the general interest or single subject magazines.

The die hard techies who read these publications want it all: the specifics of products, the pricing and comparisons, but they want to sink their teeth into good interviews, expert columns, not to mention narratives about what is coming and what the products will look like.  A tall order, indeed, for the designer.

So, this is how we distributed the work from the start:

1. Content Review:  what is coming from svm that must be preserved and presented lively on L’Ordinateur.

2. Content Pacing: what sections should come first, second and third, and how can we establish a good visual symphony that will allow the reader to sample long narratives, then take a visual break with pages of short items and tons of finger readings: violins and trombones.

3. Typographic considerations:  Type had to be orchestrated perfectly well, to create variety, but to make the small type of listings and comparisons between products extremely legible.  Add to that the fact that we wanted to remind readers of svm of their magazine, while introducing them to a new publication.  The fonts used are: Vitesse, Heroun Sans (headlines and small boxes and/or briefs;  Dot Matrix (variations, small box headlines, ornaments); Commodore 64 (accessories) and Escrow text (bodytext).

4. Color Coding: Each of the various sections has a specific color to identify it throughout, contributing to easy navigation but also to how we created the “mini magazine” concept, as if the sections are magazines themselves, complete with navigational details and promos to stories in that section.

Visit website:
http://www.01net.com/outils/PseudoV6?base=grandpublic&pseudo=oi&rub=10481

TheMarioBlog post #621

Mama and I dancing at her 80th birthday party in Miami, May 2009

Maria Ofelia and her four grandchildren: Elena, Brian, Mario and Ana

Matriarch: Maria Ofelia and her 11 greatgrandkids last July at Longboat Key, Florida

My mother died peacefully in her sleep this morning, Saturday, August 28,  after a year-long battle with cancer, which she fought valiantly, the way she faced everything in her life.

One could write a long book about Mama.  Or one could try to summarize this absolutely special woman in a 140-character Tweet that would probably read something like this:

Mama loved unconditionally, cooked expertly and passionately; her weather map was always warm and sunny.  Woman of a thousand lights!

That was my Mama.

A woman who responded to a double name—Maria Ofelia.

While it is common for Hispanic women to have Maria as a first name, it is usually accompanied by a second name, and thus they are Maria Elena, Maria Luz, Maria Teresa, etc.  Upon arriving in the US, many of these women turn into simply Marias, but not my mother.

She was Maria Ofelia to everyone, including her four grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren who, trying to mix English and Spanish and make it easy for their pronunciation, forever called her Mopeya.

Mopeya had the strength of a titan, in spite of her small physical stature.  When she put her mind to doing something she did it—and excelled at it.  Her NO was resounding, and there was no return.  In between her “si” and her “no” one found a sweet woman with big and vivacious brown eyes who invited everyone into her immaculate home (she took pride in the fact that her tile floors shined like those at the entrance to the Ritz), whose kitchen always had the smell of something delicious at any time of the day (her Cuban specialties have been sampled by my friends from around the world when they visited Miami; she converted everyone who came to her house into a fan of Cuban cuisine, or make that, a fan of Maria Ofelia’s Cuban cuisine.

As I age, I realize how much I am like my mother——except that in the kitchen I can only make coffee.  She taught me discipline from an early age; she showed me that sticktoitveness is the engine of making dreams come true; she knew that a smile and a friendly gesture can melt mountains of ice.

She was more than my mother, she was my best friend and confidant, one who never judged, but always offered sound advice if one requested it.

Not only did she give me life, but she also carefully orchestrated what I call a “second life” when she sent me to the United States as a child, alone, one of the many Peter Pans who arrived in this country to escape Cuba’s communism.  While my father perhaps wavered and doubted that decision, Mama knew that there was only one way for me to go: to the United States.

“My son,“ she said, “is going to grow up in a free country, with opportunities and freedom to do what he wants.“

And so in 1962 she said goodbye to me at the Rancho Boyeros Airport in Havana, for a separation that lasted two years. While only ninety miles separated us geographically, thousand of unknown miles lay between us at a time when nobody knew what course US/Cuba relations would take (not that anyone does even today, almost 50 years later!)

Once reunited in Miami, she had our “new home” set up within days—-collecting old furniture that others discarded, making sofa covers and colorful cushions to, as she put it , “make the place look like home, and like we are here to stay”.

In those days, no Cuban exile thought that he was here to stay, not my dad, anyway, who died almost ten years ago still dreaming of returning to a free Cuba.

Not, Mama, however: in this case, Mama knew best.

She knew that the US was home, became a US citizen, worked as a seamstress making uniforms for Eastern Airline flight attendants, or sewing prom dresses for my high school friends.
Always smiling, and making a picadillo or arroz con pollo, between breaks from her old Singer sewing machine.

At night, she would accompany my dad to whatever nightclub gig he was playing in the golden era of Miami Beach, before it became an Art Deco tourist destination.  Mama loved music, and she sat (never dancing) watching my dad play his tenor saxophone.  She enjoyed meeting the stars he accompanied: Olga Guillot, Gloria Estefan, Pedro Vargas, Chirino, La Lupe.  The house is full of pictures of her, my dad, and the stars.  She could tell you stories about the fabulous nights of that biggest and most tropical of all cabarets, Havana’s Tropicana.  In those pictures, Mama is always dressed for the occasion: elegant but colorful, a pretty woman who favored pastel colors to the end, with make up and manicure perfect to a T.

When my father died, she insisted on staying in the same house they shared in Miami for decades.
I gave her the option to move out, to a smaller, newer place.

“Mama, why don’t you move to a two bedroom condo in Miami Beach, so you can see the ocean from the balcony,“ I told her .

“No, no, no,“ came her answer. “I don’t want anyone else telling me to move from my house. I am happy here. Has it occurred to anyone that some of us like to live with the memories?“

Yes, indeed, Mama.  I now know exactly what you mean.

TheMarioBlog post # 620

The content driven newsroom

It is important news: USA Today
—-the newspaper that spelled INNOVATION with capital letters when it first appeared in 1982—-is doing it again as it announces the implementation of a “radical” restructuring, effective today, that will refocus the newsroom to produce content for mobile devices and result in the layoff of 130 people.

As I read the many announcements and analytical blogs about this news, I notice two things of interest—-and I am not necessarily talking about the fact that focus will shift from print to digital media, something that has been part of an evolutionary process at USA Today and media houses worldwide.

To me, what is more remarkable is the following:

1. In the first wave of change, USA Today, which is based in McLean, Va., will no longer have separate managing editors overseeing its News, Sports, Money and Life sections.
The newsroom instead will be broken up into a cluster of “content rings” each headed up by editors who will be appointed later this year.  Indeed, out go the traditional departments that have been the cornerstone of newspapers worldwide; in comes an approach where the tyranny of departmentalizing goes out the window, to allow for a more flexible and content driven force to prevail in the newsroom.

According to an AP report, the content rings will be “Your Life,“ “Travel,“ “Breaking News,“ “Investigative,“ “National,“ “Washington/Economy,“ “World,“ Environment/Science,“ “Aviation,“ “Personal Finance,“ “Autos,“ “Entertainment” and “Tech.“

2. Going where the audience is: According to the AP report, editor John Hillkirk was quoted saying that :
“ ‘We have to go where the audience is. If people are hitting the iPad like crazy, or the iPhone or other mobile devices, we’ve got to be there with the content they want, when they want it.‘ “
This is, in fact, the foundation for survival in a multiplatform environment, abandoning the old concept of updating news when the newsroom feels it is necessary, and, instead, shifting to constant updating for users who may come at anytime during a 24/7 cycle to get the news and features they want when they want it.

For more details:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=134&aid=189656

Looking ahead at El Tiempo

I find this USA Today development fascinating as we have been working on a similar strategy at Colombia’s El Tiempo, which will launch a new look and a new reorganization of its newspaper and, of course, newsroom in early October.

I cannot discuss many of the details of what we are doing at El Tiempo at the moment, but suffice it to say that it involves a drastic analysis of how content is presented, with a tearing down of traditional departments, giving way to content packages based on how we know readers/users approach the newspaper and its many platforms. and NOT going by the more conservative and established rules of news departments that, in my view, are obsolete in a multiplatform environment.

Stay tuned for more of El Tiempo’s revolutiionary development.

iPad at the beach

Today’s Luxemburger Wort proudly displays a photo composite of various beachgoers holding their iPads while reading the Wort’s iPad edition.  Who said you could not mix sun screen and iPad screen?

TheMarioBlog post #620

The discount tablets are here

It is an important part of my presentations all the time: no matter how you look at it, if you are in the publishing business, you will be working with a tablet soon, if not already.  For the most, media houses are concentrating heavily on Apple’s iPad for reasons we all know well—-more than three million sold, Apple’s recognized quality and support of its products, and usability, not to mention aesthetics and the versatility of the tablet.

However, come December 2010, I can foresee at least a half dozen other tablets, priced cheaper, which will entice users who want to read on the tablet, but can’t afford the iPad or other more expensive models.

Now, AllGo, the Bangalore-based Indian company, has built a mock prototype of a $50 tablet with Android 1.6 as its operating system. AllGo Embedded Systems showed the prototype on Wired.com with a reference platform called ‘Stamp’ and a 7-inch, 800 x 480 pixels resistive touchscreen monitor. The device is Wi-Fi capable and comes with a USB and ethernet port. Production is planned for 2011.

Somehow, and I can’t help myself here, the image that comes to mind when I think of this Indian-made tablet is that of a famous cardiologist based in Chennai, a small, talkative man, with assorted degree designations next to his name on his business card.  This peculiar character has been present at every major event or launch gala I have attended for The Hindu, one of India’s most prestigious English language newspapers.  Indeed, the doctor talked to me everytime we met, and I was curious to see that he always carried a small red suitcase around, from which he could produce a medical text, or a small black book of famous sayings and quotations. But, alas, the big surprise for me was when he pulled out his white iPod, and proceeded to show me that he carried there 550 of the best Indian songs of all time, many from Bollywood movies. “I never go anywhere without my iPod,“ he told me.

Well, doctor, I am sure you already have the real iPad in your small suitcase, where you can store your books and all those songs, plus more, including reading The Hindu perhaps.

The Stamp prototype above runs Android 1.6, also known as Donut

Acer going Android tablet too?

Acer
is rumored to be developing a tablet as well, possibly even two Android-based tablets slated for launch later this year. According to a rumor out of Digitimes, those plans may have been derailed by the company’s decision to forgo version 2.2 and wait for Android 3.0.

Motorola’s tablet

With a catchy named like The Stingray, Motorola‘s tablet is said to sport a 10-inch display, NVIDIA Tegra 2, and will likely be FiOS-enabled for Verizon. Speculation is that Motorola is waiting for Android 3.0 Gingerbread before releasing the tablet

Preparation time

Now that you know that there is definitely a tablet in your nearest future, you need to continue working hard to develop apps that are customized to the specific characteristics of your newspaper or magazine.

Remember, a tablet is not a newspaper nor a magazine; it is not television; it is not an online edition, yet, it is a little of all of the above.

The first step for tabletizing is a simple one—-quite useful, if you ask me——and it involves X-raying your newspaper or magazine to find how it can grow longer legs to go tablet. More importantly, how will the tablet translate the brand, the familiarity that exists between readers and their publication, but will enhance it all ten fold to accommodate what tablet junkies will come to expect of their new gadget—-regardless of how much they paid for it.

TheMarioBlog post #619

I don’t know about you, but I usually smile and celebrate the little things that show that things are popping and happening for media houses worldwide.

So, a little celebration today, as I reviewed the daily WAN/IFRA Executive News Service:

- UK: Johnston Press Reports Cheering Financial Results
http://www.allmediascotland.com/press_news/26791/johnston-press-reports-cheering-financial-results
- UK: Future of Newspaper Advertising Brighter, says Industry Chief
http://www.allmediascotland.com/press_news/26789/future-of-newspaper-advertising-brighter-says-industry-chief
- UK: Paper.li: Guardian Technology - now available as a newspaper, online!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/aug/24/paperli
- US online ad spend to jump 14% next year
http://digitalmedia.strategyeye.com/article/0tn1Ew4lWTU/2010/08/24/us_online_ad_spend_to_jump_14_next_year/?nsl=lMLZec7pLpnW

- South Africa: isiZulu papers’ success highlight gap in the market
http://www.biz-community.com/Article/196/90/51181.html
- India: IRS Q2 2010: Jagran, Bhaskar & Hindustan take lead again
http://www.mediasarkar.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=866:irs-q2-2010-jagran-bhaskar-a-hindustan-take-lead-again-&catid=113:print-media-&Itemid=515
- Forrester: iPad kicks off ‘tablet mania’
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20014421-37.html
- Apple still dominates mobile ads despite Android surge
http://digitalmedia.strategyeye.com/article/JpmlLq9auFI/2010/08/23/apple_still_rules_mobile_ads_despite_android_surge/?nsl=7gtENBiOw1B0
- Fewer free papers close down
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2010/aug/24/freesheets-newspapers
- Is $10 The Magic Number In Online Publishing?
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-10-is-the-magic-number-in-online-publishing/

Rémy Dessarts is new editor of France Soir

Congratulations to our friend, Rémy Dessarts, with whom we worked earlier at L’Equipe, the sports daily, as he becomes editor of France Soir.

Rémy replaces Christian de Villeneuve, who resigned last week as editor in chief.  Alexandre Pugachev, owner of France Soir, made the annnouncement. Bloggers in Paris cliam that Pugachev was not very happy with de Villeneuve’s inability to increase sharply the newspaper’s circulation, which is approximately 88,000 daily.  Pugachev is also denying reports that in appointing Rémy , he is trying to take France Soir to a more downmarket style, an assumption many make as Rémy was leader of a now defunct project to take Germany’s Bild Zeitung to a French version.

TheMarioBlog post #618

TAKEAWAY: It was a matter of time: Singapore’s newspaper for the young, The New Paper, has now travelled the extra mile to open a sports bar.  News served with beer, cocktails and the latest updates on sports happenings.  PLUS: At the South China Morning Post: iPad app launch is big success AND: iPads for sumo wrestlers

Extra! Extra! Bar doors open at The New Paper

The New Paper carries reader interaction to the next fun level

One of my most memorable career moments was to be part of the creation of Singapore’s The New Paper, which launched on 26 July 1988.  The New Paper today is the second most read English language newspaper in the island country.  Originally created to serve an audience of 16 to 24 year olds, it is now well read by the parents of those for whom it was intended.  It was with The New Paper that I first used the term “sophisticated sensationalism”.  Stories are short, bright, heavy on human interest and forever young.

Perhaps it is in that youthful spirit that The New Paper now becomes the first newspaper——to my knowledge—-to have a bar, yes, as in a pub. Indeed, at a time when newspaper companies look for ways to diversity, amplify their business horizons, and, of course, move multiplatform, The New Paper has taken diversification to the next level, with the opening of a sports bar.

The New Paper Sports Bar offers punters live football matches on a host of large TV screens, cold mugs of Asia’s Tiger Beer and an exclusive live feed from The New Paper’s newsroom where its sports writers offer up-to-the-minute betting tips.

Opening a sports bar will “provided a venue for the newspaper to connect with its readers, as well as provide perks for subscribers who take up the free option of joining TNP Club”, the company said in a statement.

I am waiting to see a menu of The New Paper’s bar, but I can only imagine that one of the most personalized drinks would have to be The Chantal Mojito: exotic, rich with gusto, honoring TNP’s first art director, with whom we worked on the prototype.

Come to think about, I have been to a bar that is inside a newspaper building, in Goteborg, Sweden, at the Goteborgs Posten.  The bar, located in the basement, is called

, and it honors the GP”s founder, although this bar is NOT open to the public, but it provides a setting for GP personnel to mingle, get a drink and chat about the day’s events.

South China Morning Post iPad app: popular and growing

The majority of users for the new SCMP’s iPad app are from overseas

Hong Kong’s leading English language newspaper, South China Morning Post, has enjoyed great success with the launch of its new iPad. In the four weeks since its launch the app has been downloaded by over 17000 unique users, nearly half of which are from overseas, including USA, Canada, China, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, UK, Germany and Japan.

Launched July 23, South China Morning Post’s new iPad edition became the second most popular app in the Hong Kong App Store on its debut day and has been consistently adding 3000+ unique downloads each week.

“The premiere of our iPad app represents our commitment to becoming the globally trusted authoritative source for English language information about Hong Kong and China”, said Anne Wong, Director of Marketing for SCMP. “Now, anywhere in the world, iPad users with an interest in the region can easily tap into the news that local Hong Kong business decision makers trust.”

Reginald Chua, South China Morning Post’s Editor-in-Chief said: “We’re excited about the new opportunities the iPad provides us as a news organization. Our geographic location in Hong Kong makes us uniquely positioned for in-depth reporting on China, and we are now able to provide that information at a touch of a finger for those discerning China watchers.”
iPad users around the world can currently download the South China Morning Post app on iTunes, free of charge for a limited period. Updated daily at 06.30 Hong Kong time, the complete edition is designed to be downloaded within a couple of minutes, to enable each page to be instantly viewable and fully accessible offline.

Typical of first versions of iPad apps, this one at the SCMP is a work in progress, and we at Garcia Media are happy to be involved with the team as a second version is crafted to assimilate the early experiences and present users with a constantly improved product.

Download at:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/south-china-morning-post/id382805033?mt=8

…..the competition bites

The Standard’s new campaign parodies that of the South China Morning Post

Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post’s main English language competitor, The Standard, a freely distributed newspaper, has mounted its own campaign, doing a parody of the SCMP’s app ad, and showing readers that indeed they are paying more than they should for the South China Morning Post’s iPad app, while theirs is free.

We all know that the newspaper environment of Hong Kong is competitive.  To hear the SCMP’s managers tell it, there is no truth to the numbers presented by The Standard, which turns the entire campaign into something more than just the usual collegial, friendly rivalry between friends who publish in the same city!

iPads for guys with fat fingers

Photo: Eckhard Pecher via wikicommons

We all know that iPads are popular with the very young (like my 5-year-old grandson Danny), or the very old (we see many senior citizens reading leisurely on their iPads in the parks in Florida, or at Starbucks cafes) , but this news took us by surprise: iPads for sumo wrestlers

Now those wrestlers involved in Japan’s ancient sport are getting iPads. The reasoning is that the touch screen keyboards are better suited for fingers too thick for ordinary texting.

So, in an effort to improve communication among its oversize wrestlers, the Sumo Association announced Monday that it was distributing iPads to its 51 sumo stables.

Apple’s tablet was chosen, according to the Jiji news agency, because many stablemasters don’t use computers and sumo wrestlers aren’t good at punching messages on mobile phones with their big hands.

I imagine that many sumo wrestling related apps are already in the making.

TheMarioBlog post #617

Back to the classroom

It is that time of the year when students put away their beach towels, swimming trunks and unread “summer” books, trading them for those required books that are part of the course syllabi.

As usually happens in late August, I have received an email from a grad student in design who tells me “I can have an elective class of my choice, which is a luxury, and I would like to ask you what you would choose if you were me.“

Well, dear student, psychology comes to mind immediately, as you will need to understand the human condition well to navigate the waters of the design world, especially to understand why many people who do not know much about design are the final arbiters of decisions that have to do very specifically with the nuances of our craft.  But that is another story, another course, for another day.

Seriously, if I were a grad student in design with a choice to make about what course to take, I would probably move towards the offerings in the speech department or in marketing and check out any courses that teach you how to present your ideas to others.  That, to me, is the key. Presentation skills are essential for a designer to succeed in the selling of his/her ideas, yet it is probably one of the most underrated and seldom discussed. 

I would hope that every design school in the world would incorporate a presentation course (or segment) in its curriculum.

You may work hard to create the ultimate masterpiece, but if you cannot sell it well, with passion, enthusiasm and with your 100% backing and trust in the concepts presented, chances are that wonderful idea will become part of your “never used” portfolio.

Five tips for an effective presentation:

1. You must be convinced that what you have to present is wonderful.  No, make that marvelous.
2. You must be clear, present in an authoritative voice (if your voice is not so good, hire a voice coach, seriously).
3. You must outline every step of your thinking process: people love to hear the behind the scenes of how an idea developed.  Perhaps you thought of this particular strategy for bylines while riding a rollercoaster, so say so.  Designers have such reputations for the quirky that nobody will be suprised.
4.  Add humor and make your presentation as personal as possible.  Whatever you do, DON”T read from a script, and even avoid cue cards in front of you.  The best presentation is like a conversation with someone you like, ideas flow naturally (even if you have rehearsed it all before hand).
5. Don’t apologize for any part of your presentation: if you begin by saying something like “if I had had more time, I would have…..“, you are running the risk that someone will tell you to go back, take your time and return when you have the presentation up to your standards.  Once you are in front of the group, you are a believer, you love your ideas and you state them clearly and passionately.

Finally, when questions come up, don’t pretend to circumnavigate around a question to which you do not know the answer. Better to say that you don’t know, but you are willing to find out.

And, yes, be open to criticism.  You may be the presenter, and your project concept may be exemplary, but there are always people in that same room who know the brand much better, and who may address issues that they know well but that you don’t.  Be prepared to let others help you understand what you don’t know.

Go into these presentations passionate about your ideas but not “married” to your ideas.  A project chockfull of great concepts will be enhanced by the concept that originates with your audience of that day.  But that great project will also be dragged down and perhaps eliminated if you, the designer, is so intrinsically attached to your set of ideas that you do not open the door for one of those ideas to be altered (enhanced?).  Let the best ideas win.

Now, and I ask the question hoping someone will let me know the answer: do presentation courses exist?  If so, which academic department offers them?

I may wish to enroll in one.  Never too late to learn new tricks.

…how to hold that portfolio!

“Which is the right way to hold that portfolio?“Image courtesy of Print Magazine/August 2010 edition

Related to the subject: a funny and interesting piece by Steven Heller in Print
Magazine about what he describes as a rampant practice among design students and professionals: a person photographed from the neck down, holding portfolio samples that are gripped in two hands—-“as though it were clean laundry”.

According to Steve, “what was an innovative, efficient alternative to static, flat display ten years ago, has now become so commonplace and clichéd as to reflect the designer’s lemminglike lack of imagination.“

Steve’s best advice, in my view: “Print does not have to be dimensional, kinetic, or otherwise made to be something it’s not. Flat is just fine.“

TheMarioBlog post #616

Five links of interest

1) Wired’s story, “The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet,“ has been widely discussed in the last few days. Essentially, Chris Anderson suggests that we are switching from using the open web browser to closed, proprietary systems, such as apps. There is a nice take on it at Nieman Lab:
http://www.niemanlab.org/2010/08/the-web-dies-the-hype-lives-what-wired-left-out-of-its-eulogy/.

2) People magazine just launched its iPad app using WoodWing, and it’s definitely one of the most interactive around, with lots of scrollable items, movies, slideshows, and web links. Erik Schut, WW president,  has a good description of it on the WoodWing blog: http://woodwing.com/en/blog/article/people-magazine-sets-new-standard-ipad-magazines.

It seems like its release was delayed by the paparazzi wanting more money for their photos: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i8f8572de75e9b83312e6d81419ecd9f0?pn=1.

3) The Conde Nast / Hearst / Meredith / News Corp. / Time Inc. collaborative, Next Issue Media, sponsored a white paper from Oliver Wyman on the potential for interactive publications: http://nextissuemedia.com/docs/NIM_research.pdf. It predicts that interactive publications will be a huge source of revenue in a few years. Some highlights from the paper are available here:
http://www.foliomag.com/2010/survey-publishers-could-see-much-3-billion-interactive-periodicals-subs.

4) After Ready-Media and Nomad Editions / Treesaver, Roger Black launched the third of his recent venture’s, Webtype: http://www.webtype.com/.

Now you can use many Font Bureau typefaces on the web, specially designed for display at small, medium, or large sizes. For example, see Antenna Medium (http://www.webtype.com/font/antenna-medium-family/), optimized for larger sizes, and Benton Sans Reading Edge (http://www.webtype.com/font/bentonsansre-family/), optimized for body text. There are already major efforts for using type on the web (notably Typekit: http://typekit.com/), but these fonts, particularly the Font Bureau Reading Edge ones, are as good as you can find.

5) Textbooks and the iPad: It is back to school time, and the idea of reading that textbook on the iPad is now a soon-to-come reality.  A tech start-up, Inkling, is introducing its first four full-length interactive college textbooks using its software platform, which is designed specifically for Apple’s iPad—a marked departure from e-textbooks that are almost entirely just text that has been digitized.

I imagine that reading history and geography books is about to become a more exciting and interactive experience.

Read more:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703791804575439522126865254.html?ru=yahoo&mod=yahoo_hs#articleTabs=article

TheMarioBlog post #615

Relaunching the Union Tribune in San Diego

The new logo for the Union Tribune created by Jim Parkinson

The graphic evolution of the San Diego Union’s logo through the years

One can only imagine the behind the scenes deliberations at the San Diego Union Tribune when someone proposed a major and dramatic change of the newspaper’s flag.

And, because the traditional San Diego Union Tribune has displayed an Old English style flag for many years, the change to a simple two letters, as in U-T, must have caused more than a dozen raised eyebrows.  It is to the credit of the team in charge that it has happened.

Our friend Jim Parkinson was in charge of creating the new logo, so I asked him why it came about:

As usual, I started with minor tweaks to the existing logo which I had tweaked before, like about ten years ago.I was surprised when Kris Veisselman asked me to push it a lot further and even more surprised when the more radical changes were favored by the paper.

Here is how the Union Tribune’s website describes the change of the logo:

The new logo signals the ongoing evolution of our company – as we change to meet the needs of our readers. However, the history of San Diego and its newspapers is the treasured foundation of our work. Therefore, we have freshened the logo while maintaining some visual connections to those of the past.

The result is a crisp, modern and elegant logo.  It will be interesting to hear how the readers reacted.  Such changes go beyond what I would call a “redesign” to be more like a total relaunching of the product, to attract new audiences, to make a statement that this is a newspaper willing to move forward.

Hopefully, its readers will see it that way.

In their own words:
Read about the San Diego Union Tribune’s redesign here
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/redesign/

TheMarioBlog post #614

And the question is…..

Monday edition front pages from the New York Daily News and New York Post

It was one of several emails I get daily, with pdfs attached: someone wants an opinion on a page, a section header, or whether to use round or square corners for boxes.

Yesterday, the question brought together two terms that are usually not connected: elegance and the downmarket street tabloids.  Specifically, this reader wanted my opinion on whether I thought that the front page of the New York Post was less elegant than the New York Daily News.

The two front pages from yesterday’s editions appear here.  I think that one gets a sense of perception for such things as elegance in about ten seconds when looking at a page.  In my view, on this particular day, the Daily News has a more elegant front page than the Post.  The Post reverts to the very traditional WOB (white on black) for its main front page headline.  The Daily News, in turn, combines the strong red background for the top story with just plain white for the second story.  The elements coexist in a cleaner , more visually appealing environment on this Daily News page. 

A better question would be: which of the two front pages sold more copies in the streets of the Big Apple yesterday?

Elegance is within you, how you were it, right? More importantly about elegance: you know when you see it

TheMarioBlog post #613

What iPad users tell us

It is good to be back, with those disconnect batteries recharged and ready to tackle work, which is usually what comes after sun and beach.

Two items of interest while I was taking my break, which goes to show that perhaps those so called “dog days of August” could be now called “those active iPad days of August”.

1. iPad users tell us how they utilize it
2. A new national newspaper in the US, for tablets and mobile phone only, to be published by News Corp?

Users and the iPad

The magnificent iPad has obviously conquered the hearts of millions during its short time with us already.  A survey shows that iPad owners prefer Apple’s revolutionary iPad over books, TV, game consoles

The survey, conducted by Cooper Murphy Webb
, a group of copywriters, who studied the reactions of 1034 people in the UK.

Highlights of this study:

-Nearly a third of the 1034 iPad owners questioned said that they prefer to use the iPhone compared to 26 per cent for laptops and computers and less than a quarter for printed paper.

-31% say that the iPad is their preferred method of reading a newspaper or magazine.

-38% say they prefer the iPad for browsing the Internet

-Given the choice between two media, 41 per cent would opt for the iPad rather than any other one, compared to 36 per cent for print.

And, finally, the majority of iPad owners in the survey say that they prefer to use their iPad at home.  This is the one point I would question, as I do see plenty of people carrying iPads with them at airports, restaurants and even the beach.  One iPad owner who takes it with him: Actor Johnny Depp, is seen in the German version of Gala magazine this week, walking with what seems like a towel or blanket and his iPad, on the way to catch some sun or a swim.

How the study helps us in creating newspaper/magazine apps

There are few surprises for me in this study.  As one who is presently engaged with several news organizations to help them with their iPad app, I value the information in this study because it reinforces some of the strategies that we try to bring to the transferring of content from the print platform to the tablets.

Specifically, we already know that many iPad users browse the Internet on the device, and it is extremely important that the design of an app include a very special and prominent spot for the newspaper or magazine’s website, one that is clearly visible and accessible at all times should the user wish to change “modes”, from what I would describe as the more relaxing and passive iPad reading mode, to the “breaking news” and more “nervous” online mode. This is key if you wish to make your iPad app functional.  The study corroborates this point.

Also, it is great to have some research supporting what we already had guessed, that people prefer the iPad for reading newspapers and magazines.  For me, the big surprise here was to see that the second preferred platform was online.  I have never enjoyed the online reading experience for newspapers and magazines as much as I do on the IPad. Of course, this is the first of many studies we shall see in the months ahead concerning iPad usage.

See the full article here:
http://coopermurphywebb.com/ipad-consumer-usage-study

News Corp and its national tablet newspaper

When my friend and former student, the multitalented Alfredo Triviño, creative genius at News Corp in London, told me recently that his summer holiday with the family was a “weekends only” affair, as he was running back and forth to his native Spain to catch some sun, while commuting back to London, and New York, for a very “special and fascinating” project, I could guess that those active guys at News Corp were up to something more major than simply giving The New York Times a bit of a headache at the local level.  Well, you can say that if the news becomes reality, News Corp may give The New York Times and USA Today, our so called national newspapers, a daily migraine.

According to a piece in the Los Angeles Times, the peripatetic Rupert Murdoch is now ready to tackle his next dream project: a national digital newspaper in the US.  I can imagine how exciting the planning sessions must be, not having to worry about printing plants, distribution centers and all those logistics that may turn even the most ardent newspaper lover to look the other way.

What’s to celebrate? If you are a storyteller, you must be raising your glass to the birth of another newspaper——regardless of platform.  The essence of what newspapers and journalism are all about find new life in a new medium.

What’s to be skeptical about?  Well, I go by the LA times report that says “The new publication would offer short, snappy stories and operate under the auspices of the New York Post.“

I would like to hear that this new digital national newspaper would be analytical, something to relax with and to get into some serious reading, not necessarily the New York Post’s fare of quick bits and pieces. 

The iPad, I maintain, is a medium to relax with, not to attach to your chest while running on a treadmill.  In a perfect world——the world of News Corp, I guess—-the new digital newspaper would take some of the best of The Wall Street Journal, with the excitement of the New York Post people/photo oriented content, and add a variety of columnists who could become the first breed of tablet-only commentators. It would have a section all about photos, which, in my view, find the ideal platform on the iPad.  If I were starting a digital national newspaper anywhere in the world, the photo gallery would be must-have section.

Then, as the British survey of iPad users above suggests, I could take my iPad by that favorite spot in my home—-the second floor little office overlooking the river—-and indulge.

The iPad is the ideal platform for indulging.  If Sunday newspaper reading is the ultimate in “indulging”, then the iPad offers us that same level of enjoyment on a daily basis, but only if the content, both journalistic and visual, are meaty enough to allow for in-depth indulgence .

TheMarioBlog post #612

Almost total disconnect!

Ok, so I mentioned that I would not update this blog until August 16.  It is almost total disconnect here, but, with apologies to my friend William Powers (author of the bestseller Hamlet’s BlackBerry) who is the ultimate inspiration—- and my conspirator—-for the idea of”disconnecting”, I just had to post this blog today.

You see, I am enjoying one final week of beach and sun for the summer of 2010, and it is going to be heavy duty, busy work in the months ahead until the next December break.  I find it just fantastic that I do not have access to Internet in my room at this five-star hotel in Maspalomas, a beautiful spot in the Canary Islands.  There is Internet access in the lobby only, so I do check mails, etc. in the evenings before dinner (one cannot truly totally disconnect, unless he wants to return to hundreds of mails that require answers, or so goes my thinking. Again, sorry William, I am trying, really trying to hit 100% DCT).

But this post is about something that would please William——not to mention my other friend Tyler Brulé, another advocate of reading printed newspapers and magazines.

One cannot get a copy of the International Herald Tribune or USA Today here. Not at all.  But I don’t need them or miss them, because, I get my three favorite Spanish daily newspapers first thing each morning: El Pais, El Mundo, ABC.

Why I like these newspapers

The first important thing to mention is the format: All three of the Spanish dailies are published in compact formats, which makes it very easy and convenient for beach reading, especially when the wind blows, as it often does in Maspalomas, blowing sand from the dunes everywhere.

The second reason these papers are must read for me: They are all what I would call “complete newspapers”.  The content fare includes the news that we all need to know, but the larger offer,especially in El Pais, is a series of features, analyses and,  thorough coverage of Latin America that is impressive and leaves the reader so satisfied that you one feels smarter and better informed when one reaches that last page, usually an interview with someone whose ideas are of interest, whether we know the person or not.

The third reason for me is more personal: as my mother tongue is Spanish, but I was educated in the United States from the age of 14, totally in English, it is exciting to read these entire editions in Spanish, and to rediscover words that one had not heard or used for decades.  Today, that one word was “ trifulca”—-meaning a row, squabble. My grandfather used the word often to describe altercations between pro Castro sympathizers and their opponents during one of his daily domino playing sessions with friends.  Seeing that word today, and knowing what it meant, was satisfying, bringing back the memories of my paternal grandfather and those lazy afternoons in the Cuba of the 1950s.

As an American, I love to read stories that show us what great impact American culture has worldwide.  In today’s editions I have found out that two purely American shows are finding new audiences in Spain:

-Chicago, the musical, after 9 months of success in a Madrid theater, will now embark on a national tour of 35 cities.

-The Golden Girls, that 80s comedy about four ladies of a certain age who showed that one can have fun (and sex) at any age, now will get a Spanish makeover, to be titled Las Chicas de Oro, with a cast that includes four of Spain’s most beloved actresses, including two of my favorites, Carmen Maura and Concha Velazco.

I am also happy to see full page ads all over these newspapers, especially in their daily Summer Specials, devoted to culture and the arts but also to very local activiites. All three of the national newspapers publish a special Canaries edition here, with ample local news.

Ironically, although the TV offerings in my room are generous, they do not include CNN, so my dose of US news is somewhat lacking, but I do know that a flight attendant for JetBlue had it with unruly, pesty passengers and made a grand exit as his flight reached JFK,popping the lever for the airliner’s inflatable chute before sliding to the tarmac outside the terminal door. Oh, yes, he grabbed a beer from the galley cart on his way out.

That story was prominently displayed in all the newspapers, complete with a photo of the smiling flight attendant, whom, I guess, will not be flying again anytime soon.  Somehow, I found myself sympathizing with the flight attendant—-although perhaps not his modus operandi.  As a frequent flyer, I am often a witness to the type of passenger who caused the problem aboard the JetBlue flight: someone who gets up to get his luggage from overhead compartments before the fasten seat belt sign is off.  I can say that in 3 out of 10 flights, I will witness someone trying to do this, and the flight attendants coming on the PA to say: Sir/Madam, please sit down, we are not there yet.

People in such a hurry to get out of an airplane—-and I mean the passengers, not necessarily the flight attendant in the story——are beyond disconnecting. For them, the problem is one of trying to inject a little patience in their routines——not to mention courtesy.

And, oh, back to the Canary Islands: there is plenty of courtesy here.  And the colorful flowers, the sleepy salamanders, the brown dunes that sit there majestically and totally disconnected, all say hello to that patience waiting to get out of you.

The tall waves from the sea remind you that some things never change and are, indeed,  worth waiting for.

And that, by the way, include my three Spanish newspapers each morning I am here.

TheMarioBlog post #611

Mario’s note: Taking the rest of this week off for a few more days of beach before getting back to work!  I don’t anticipate any updates of TheMarioBlog until August 16.  See you then!

TAKEAWAY: It is a thing of beauty, with content robust enough to let you pick everything from your next winter coat to that special red wine to accompany your summer barbecue, not to mention that you get to meet Angela Markel’s chef, and get a personal tour of Berlin.  If “pop up” is what the tablets are all about, The Iconist is a pop up piñata that celebrates lifestyle, fashion and culture. ALSO: Gulf News wins in the Publish Asia 2010 contest.

Add to the list of app favorites: The Iconist

The Iconist.

It was the one magazine iPad app that stopped the show momentarily during The Power of the Tablet conference at the Poynter Institute last June.  Everyone wanted to know more about this well designed, content savvy and visually surprising early entry into the world of iPad magazine apps.

Many of the conference participants asked if there was an English version of it.  Jan Bayer, of Axel Springer, who was attending the conference smiled and said: Not yet, but soon.

It is here now.

Yesterday, we published the 10 iPad apps that all designers should take a look at.  Let’s add # 11, a treat for those who wish to see what can be done with photography, texts, lifestyle content and more.

Because of the success of its German version of The Iconist, Axel Springer recently brought out an English version of this app, published by the German daily, Die Welt.The Iconist is one of the few magazines purely developed for the iPad.  Its content is a mix of lifestyle, fashion and culture.

The so called international edition is led by a team that includes Inga Griese (senior editor)
and Brian O’ Connor (creative director) with writers Markus Albers and Joachim Bessing.  Their goal is to take the magazine to a wide global audience.

Jan-Eric Peters is editor in chief of the Welt group, and here is how he sees the role of The Iconist:

The ipad allows us to turn the stories in the iconist into a multimedia user
experience. Style and luxury stories have a great emotional impact on a
reader. In the international edition we introduce the user to berlin the home city
of the iconist the exciting capital of germany. our writers guide the user
on an interactive tour of our favourite spots in the city

Inga Griese (senior editor), sees the iPad as a “mobile machine” with an added “fun factor”:

The iPad is the perfect playing field for a product like The Iconist. fashion
and lifestyle are not just a great business model for a publishing company
they also cover an unlimited resevoir of interesting stories and people that
can touch us and establish an emotional connection. The transporter of
beauitiful things is exactly what The Iconist is.

Senior Editor Inga Griese with creative director Brian O’Connor

Brian O’Connor (creative director) is the design man behind The Iconist’s app:

For the user The Iconist is world of entertainment tailor made for the iPad.
For me the project is a wonderful chance to experiment. We decided from the outset to leave the classical magazine structure behind,
no jumping from big to little stories. Interesting is also the workflow: the designer and writer have to work closely together to achieve the best
 results.

Brian O’Connor discusses print versus iPad design

Brian has been a print designer for most of his career, with stints at German’s financial daily, Handelsblatt, where he served as art director before joining the Welt Gruppe as creative director, with his major responsibility as design director of the award winning Welt am Sonntag.

His background in print allows him to make comparisons between designing a newspaper or magazine and an iPad app, so I took this opportunity to ask him two questions, which he was happy to answer for us:

Mario: What were the design challenges that you faced here that were new, that you, as a print designer had not experienced before?

Brian:
I think strategically there is always point of no-return in iPad storytelling because of the technical back end and the production you need to know what you want to do and be sure it works, for instance in print you make ideas print them out present them and more often than not have to change a lot that is really not an option at the moment.

Mario: What are some of the design strategies that are universal, work the same for print as well as for the tablet?

Brian:
I have found that print designers and particularly editorial designers have been able to adapt really quickly too the medium, in my view classic Internet designers or journalists have a bigger learning curve, our production company had a big problem making templates that switch from 1-2-3 columns for text, not because it was difficult more so because they couldn’t understand why I would want that. For a print designer it is perfectly obvious “keep the reader engaged”

Brian O’Connor ,creative director for the Welt Gruppe in Berlin, and chief designer of The Iconist’s app, in front of the current issue’s storyboard

It’s Gold for the Gulf News

The WAN/IFRAPublish Asia 2010 Awards are in, and the Gulf News of Dubai , is among the winners.

A proud Miguel Gomez, design director of the Gulf News sends us the happy news along with pdfs of the winning entries. Congrats!

Gold Award
Best Special Section
Manny Pacquiao special
By Douglas Okasaki

Gold Award
Best Infographic
There’s life after Lehman
By Dwynn Ronald Trazo

Bronce Award
Best Infographic
Wild Life Series, Caspian Terrapin
By Niño Jose Heredia

TheMarioBlog post #610