When The Wall Street Journal first approached Garcia Media to create the design of its new Internatianal compact editions, the word “fusion” of online and print was the centerpiece of the discussion.
Mario Garcia Sr. immediately thought that a true fusion of the two media—a first for any newspaper in the systematic manner in which The Wall Street Journal will execute it starting October 17—had to begin with a visual fusion of the brands.
This week, Dow Jones & Co. unveiled what the company refers to as “a pioneering new nameplate design for the international editions of The Wall Street Journal, reflecting their integration with the Wall Street Journal Online edition beginning Oct. 17.”
Created as part of a redesign of the newspapers into a compact size, the new nameplate features a sharp black version of the original, 116-year-old Journal banner, over a Champagne-color watermark of WSJ.com, the Internet address of The Wall Street Journal Online.
“The new design combines the powerful brand we are best known for with a subtle statement of our continuous, around-the-clock presence,” said Karen Elliott House, senior vice president of Dow Jones & Co. and publisher of The
Wall Street Journal.
After Mario conceived the initial design, he then worked with veteran nameplate designer Jim Parkinson (www.typedesign.com), a leading specialist in typeface design and logos, who produced it and gave it finishing touches.
“The nameplate gives us a sense of familiarity with a product,” Mario said. “The Wall Street Journal’s banner has been the `flag’ of the newspaper for more than a century. It stands for all that the newspaper means to its loyal readers: credibility, seriousness, authority, tradition.”
Fusing the print and online identities of the Journal is central to the Journal’s new global initiative to redesign its Asian and European print editions in compact format and harmonize the paper’s name around the world. In Asia, The Asian Wall Street Journal will be renamed The Wall Street Journal Asia. Online, the paper already carries the Journal brand.
Throughout the new compact, international editions of The Wall Street Journal there will be pointers that guide readers to data, transcripts, photos and even video online, to enrich and deepen their Journal experience. The Journal Online also will offer readers in Asia and Europe significantly enhanced content, including email news alerts and exclusive new international features.
Mario said the integration called for a new visual approach. “It was clear in my mind from day one that fusion of the two media, systematically speaking, meant visual fusion as well,” Dr. Garcia said. “When alliances are created, usually one brand wins the brand battle, and the other disappears. In this case, both brands coexist and create the possibility of greater synergy.
“In the end,” he said, “if we were to create a real fusion of the Journal’s daily practices, that fusion had to start visually.”