Why make it hard to read?

It is one of the three design mantras that is the foundation of my work and my teaching, as we see in this screen from my new mobile storytelling book, The Story:

Yes, Make it easy to read. That means not doing the type of things that, while may be a result of a creative designer flexing his/her creativity muscles, does not help with reading the piece, which is the ultimate goal.

I admit that I love everything The New York Times T Magazine does, but I am not sure I can endorse what they have done in this latest Sunday, October 20, edition.

Here is the attractive cover of T Magazine this Sunday:

And, while this cover is attractive and inviting, some of the inside pages ruin the good content by setting some of the type on a slant, which does not make for easy reading. Take a look :

Also, running type vertically is not such a good idea:

There are many opportunities to get creative with type, as long as it does not ruins legibility.

From Monocle Weekend

THE INTERROGATOR / EDITION 30

https://monocle.com/minute/2019/09/21/

Mario García

Editorial consultant Mario García has advised the most important newsrooms in the world on design – and how best adapt to a digital transition. More than 700 publications, from The Wall Street Journal to the South China Morning Post, have received his strategic steer. Other than being an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of Journalism, he also runs his own consultancy firm: García Media. Nowadays his speciality is how digital devices influence narrative structure and consumption; his latest book, The Story, was written specifically to be read on a phone. Here, though, he confesses to a few analogue pleasures.

What they are saying about The Story!

The Story is here!

You can now download my new mobile storytelling book, The Story, from Apple Books at $6.99
This is Book 1 of a Trilogy! The other two books coming soon.
https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-story-volume-i/id1480169411

The newspaper remains the most powerful source of storytelling on the planet. But technology threatens its very existence. To survive, the Editor must transform, adapt, and manage the newsroom in a new way. Order The Story by Mario Garcia, chief strategist for the redesign of over 700 newspapers around the world.

My chat with in Monocle Radio

Listen to my chat in Monocle Radio’s The Stack: Latest episode‘The Face’ and ‘The Story’:We welcome the return of the print version of ‘The Face’ and talk to legendary newspaper designer Mario Garcia about his latest book, ‘The Story’.
https://monocle.com/radio/shows/the-stack/368/play/

My interview with CNN en Español

I was a guest in the program Encuentro, hosted by Guillermo Arduino daily at CNN en Español. The interview was about how we read on mobile devices and my introduction of my new mobile storytelling book, The Story, to a Spanish-language audience.

García: Si tienes una buena historia, la gente la va a leer