Last January we were there to usher the new look for The Nation of Bangkok, Thailand.
It was a one of a kind type of project: The Nation, the well-established English-language daily, was going to convert to a finance and politics newspaper, while its new sister publication, Daily Xpress, would be a tabloid covering general news, sports and entertainment.
Not much new here, EXCEPT that:
1. Daily Xpress would be free, becoming the first free newspaper in Thailand.
2. Daily Xpress would also be inserted inside The Nation for subscribers.
To my knowledge, no media house had ever attempted to combine a free tab with its existing broadsheet. The publisher and editors were ready to take the leap, and so it was done with much success.
Now, almost 8 months after the relaunch, The Nation displays a lively design, uses color in headlines, capital letters, and has a special weekend front page with a colorful navigator to the inside.
Leroy Sylk, design director, says he is proud of what has been accomplished so far:
“What Thailand has been dearly in need of is a dedicated local English daily business newspaper. Recognizing this, The Nation has stepped in to fill this gap, changing from a general-news paper to one that lays emphasis on business news. But that doesn’t mean we ignore the importance of politics, which we devote at least 2 pages to each day. Also, to provide our readers with a diversity of news and features, we’ve included daily coverage of auto affairs, property projects, technology and even arts. And the response has been heartening: businessmen and businesswomen love the new, no-frills, clean design format including the capitalized, two-color headlines. And really important: they find the editorial content informative as well as useful.”
In addition, young readers who would have never read The Nation, are now flocking to the Daily Xpress.
A win win situation.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
https://garciamedia.com/blog/articles/first_ever_free_daily_in_thailand/
WE SEND YOU:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/
http://www.dailyxpress.net/
REDESIGN IN DUBAI: It is not only new skyscrapers that appear in Dubai these days to forever change the skyline of the city. The media skyline is also constantly changing.
Less than six months ago, a new daily, The National , was launched in Abu Dhabi. The Gulf News, the established English-language daily, and our client, is in a constant state of evolution, and the Financial Times recently began publishing a Middle East edition. Now, Khaleej Times, a 30-year-old English-language newspaper, has announced plans to relaunch with a new look by the end of August. The design consultant hired for the redesign is Paula Scher, a partner at Pentagram Design in New York, who has done work for The New York Times Magazine, according to sources.
The Khaleej Times can certainly use a new style of visual presentation. In my many years coming to visit Dubai I have often wondered why the Times appears so disorganized, with clashing typographic elements, color that is not systematically used, and a total lack of hierarchy for the size of headlines on inside pages. Now, finally, it may join the ranks of the other well designed newsappers in the UAE: The National (designed by the Canadian designer Lucy Lacava), Gulf News (a Garcia Media product) and the recently added financial daily Emirates Business 24/7 (a project of Innovation, with Guillermo Nagore as lead designer).
WE SEND YOU:
Khaleej Times (www.khaleejtimes.com)
Emirates Business 24/7 (www.business24-7.ae) –
Gulf News (www.gulfnews.com) –
The National (www.thenational.ae)
WHERE IS MARIO?:>On the way to Hyderabad, India.