Left and found: Jyllands Posten edition and some tips for inside page architecture
No sooner had the waiter ushered me to a table at a restaurant in Maspalomas that I spotted a newspaper abandoned by a previous patron, whom I assume had just landed from Denmark for a few days in the sun.
The serendipity of finding an edition of a newspaper in a restaurant, on the back pocket of an airline seat, or left hanging from the window of a train always constitutes a thrill for me.
Of course, I receive tons of newspapers to evaluate in my office. However, if it was expressly sent to me, it is either with a note attached that reads: “Mario, we think we did great in our special souvenir edition. Tell us what you think”, OR, “Mario, we are not sure we handled this football page right, but can’t quite put our finger on what went wrong. Can you tell us?”
Now, the surprise of the newspaper that nobody sent you, and that represents an ordinary day (are they ever?) in the life of a newspaper, well, that has got to be one of life’s last remaining free pleasures.
In this case, the Jyllands Posten (june 27, 2008), one of Denmark’s most distinguished dailies, is familiar to me. I worked with their talented team more than 15 years ago, both in Arhus and Copenhagen. How well has that original design survive?
I am sure that the design has had several reincarnations, but what we see today is a newspaper that is well organized, with good hierarchy and, the biggest surprise to me, extremely well laid out pages.
OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Notice the page architecture of inside pages, where the column of briefs, which usually hangs on the outside of the page, in this case serves to create vertical energy by crossing the page top to bottom, but in the midst of other news. Good idea.
WHERE IS MARIO? Continue holiday in Maspalomas. Today, sailboats in the horizon, white sails, slow motion, like summer, a time to let the waves and the wind roll you, or lull you to sleep. And, who knows what “familiar” newspaper I may come across in the next few days, as more than 35000 tourists from around the world descend upon Maspalomas for their summer holiday. I am ready for serendipity.