In our blog Wednesday we started the review of Javier Errea’s new book, Newspaper Design. Our emphasis in that post was on the 10 newspapers from around the globe profiled as case studies.

Today we turn our attention to another important and interesting segment of the book: the profile of designers complete with a gallery of their body of work. I am honored to be one of the designers in the book.

I will present them in the order in which they appear in the book.

I have the utmost respect for all those profiled here. I admire their work and I consider them to be innovators as their body of work presented in the book shows.

Designer profile: Mario Garcia

Newspaper Design: “Just as other designers have a signature style readily identifiable in their design projects, Mario Garcia’s work is characterized by having no fixed style. He does not work with a pre-established toolkit. Graphically, he is like a chameleon, adapting perfectly to each situation.”

I have to admit that my first reaction upon reading it, and one that I shared with Javier, was “Oh, my stars, this is what I would like my obituary to read like.” Yes, I know that sounds a bit morbid, but I thought of it in the most positive way. After all, how many people get to read their own obituary while still alive. Anyway, enough of that thought. I am honored by all that Javier wrote here, and of the examples he picked.

The work we do is never the result of one person’s ideas. It is all about collaboration, and the examples shown in my profile are the result of the many mega talented people with whom I have worked along the way.

Designer profile: Lucie Lacava

Newspaper Design: “Like a true archaeologist, Lucie rummages through the history of each newspaper, imbibing its personality.”

How I admire the work of the great French Canadian designer Lucie Lacava. Lucie and I have been friends for a long time, and each of her projects brings us those special typographic and elegant touches that are such an important part of her work. Errea is right when he writes that Lucie uses type like no other designer. Among her favorite fonts: Bodoni (she thinks is most elegant font ever designed), Helvetica and Futura.

Designer profile: Antoni Cases

Newspaper Design: “A key concept that guides everything Cases and his team does is consistency. But consistency does not mean blandness.”

Toni Cases never disappoints with his design. He has traveled the world designing newspapers of all sizes, and while you never hear much from Toni directly, his presence has been felt in the industry for years and he always receives the highest accolades from both readers of the newspapers he designs, as well as his peers.

Designer profile: Javier Errea

Newspaper Design: “For Errea, design is journalism in capital letters. It is an opportunity to inspire change in the newsroom.”

Boy wonder comes to mind when I think of Javier Errea, whom I met when he was a student and a Poynter Fellow. Right then I knew I was in the presence of a major talent. Now Javier reminds me that he is not as young anymore, but I tell him it is all relative. His designs are crisp, direct and often resembles posters that one would like to frame for posterity. Just take a look!

Designer profile: Mark Porter

Newspaper Design: “He no longer defines himself as a news designer but rather a media designer and storyteller. He is fundamentally, a person who develops systems of visual identification.”

Mark’s work epitomizes precision, elegance and functionality, three important attributes that are guaranteed in his work, whether a daily popular newspaper, a business journal or an intellectual publication. I look at his work in awe, and always look for ideas to adapt to my own work, something that I am sure we all do. Take a look at the variety of styles, but with the unmistakable Mark Porter signature: elegance.

The essays

A highlight of Newspaper Design is the fact that the “template” that Errea has used allows for case studies, profiles of designers, but also essays which allow him and others to get into the more philosophical aspects of design, touching upon topics that we tend to discuss when we lean back, perhaps during a cocktail hour after a seminar or conference, or, of course, in academic discourse.

Among the most interesting such essays for me:

-Why News Design Matters

Written by Errea himself, this essay is the intro to the book and emphasizes the importance of newspapers:

“It is essential to defend them (newspapers)in the face of passing fads and misguided whims. And it is also necessary to raise a voice and remember that journalism can and should be published in various formats because each one contributes to the whole.”

-Content Needs Form: What Newspapers can Learn from Magazine Design

“A brighter future for print is in the multi sectioned Saturday and Sunday editions in which a newspaper offers far more than the kind of news you can read online and under very different reading conditions than a crowded train on your way to work.”

-The dilemma of the snake: considerations on responsive journalistic design

“Silicon Valley has pushed us designers into the realm of responsive design, with the user deciding if they want their reading interface to be vertical or horizontal. This freedom has forced designers to combine the verticality of printed books and newspapers with the digital horizontality of televisions and computers.”

-A full stop is everything: Or why designers must sometimes take a half step

“If the medium is the message, the design is instrumental in confirming its credentials. What defines a quality printed newspaper is not the same as what characterizes information on television or radio.”

-People not platforms: Designing news experiences for a social age

“As news designers, we must go back to the reader. Perhaps build a mental image of their day or week, and see what we are able to achieve.”

In case you have not rushed to order your own copy, I hope these two blog posts will make you put Newspaper Design on your list. The book is a catalog of ideas, a cornucopia of the best of design, and, as a reference book, a great one to keep on your coffee table to inspire conversations, especially for those who simply consume the news and will, upon seeing this book, will realize that while the pages look perfectly choreographed in a painless way, there is much thought, planning and talent that is required to deliver them.

Errea’s love letter to print is also an inspiring bit of visual poetry for all of us.