TAKEAWAY: The poster front page can offer a visual surprise, while reflecting the “other angle” of a story that online services have already reported in the first day cycle.
I arrived in Goteborg today to work with the team for two days, and there it was, a poster front page telling a story that is very local for everyone in Goteborg: Volvo, the car maker that makes its home here, announced that it would cut its work force by an additional 2000 employees. Although the editors had sensed that this was coming—-indeed, we did some practice sessions using that story line during the workshop—-they had no idea when it would happen.
As managing editor Cecilia Kronlein describes it, “we broke the news in our online edition about 2 pm , so we knew we had to deal with the story as a second day angle the next morning. That is when we thought of applying our experience at the workshop, considering a poster page.”
Enter design director Mats Widebrant, who was recruited on the spot and taken away from other duties to “think of some visuals to do a poster page concept.”
“But I immediately saw type, “ Mats said.”Sort of like painting with type on the page, while telling the story.” Armed with an idea, and the able assistance of his assistant art director, Thomas Andersson, Mats proceeded to sketch the concept: basically short text blocks that would tell the story of how Volvo began to cut its work force in 2005. Each text block described the circumstances behind the cuts.
“Once we had the text blocks in place, we realized we needed a visual, so Thomas thought of using the distorted Volvo logo, and that was it.”
Today’s Goteborgs Posten is special.
It tells the story of the day, the one the town’s people can’t get enough of.
But it tells it from the point of view of a second day story, with a second day headline that read: What next?
HOW IT WAS DONE: It took four hours from conception to completion for this front page, with an art director, his assistant, and an editor writing the copy.
WE SEND YOU:
www.gp.se
http://uk.reuters.com/article/motoringSummary/idUKNOA62961920080626
TOMORROW: My Moleskine: good for sketching that first idea or for explaining Amy Winehouse
WHERE IS MARIO: In Goteborg, where summer has not truly arrived fully yet. I arrived at the Radisson SAS Scandinavia and asked the friendly bell hop: What happened to summer?
“Oh, that was in May,” he said matter of fact. We started the day carrying an umbrella, then I had a good run thru the center of the city with splendid sunshine. At 10 pm, it is is still almost like daylight outside. On the menu tonight: my favorite appetizer, the Lojrom –Swedish white bait roe served with toast, chopped onion and sour cream. Goes down well with a glass of Veuve Clicquot.
