Wednesday 31 August 2011

Online advances

The newspaper industry industry has slowly declined in recent years as the online factor has entered the market. Newspapers have used technological convergence to include live feeds as well as Facebook and Twitter pages. The online advances have seen the use of faster internet speeds and connections mount pressure on print publications. National newspapers such as the Sun and Daily Mirror somewhat rely on their reader engaging with their website as well as their paper. This sort of decline has led to a rise in price of newspapers which hasn't helped the industry although with companies trying to boost their readership and revenue it's tough.
The i paper is a one-off in that its concept is only 20p per day, an idea that has took off enormously as part of the Independent newspaper. The paper is chic, modern and contains everything I want my paper to be on a national scale. The i paper has listened to audience research and targeted Twitter users, a network that is growing in power and numbers every day.



National red-tops use their website as propaganda in some ways to drum up interest in their newspaper, the Daily Mirror through the online world has built its own football specific website, making the Trinity Mirror appear in control of the football market to a degree.

But on a local scale is this same online addiction continued? I looked at the Bristol Evening Post website to see the regularity of posts, which was often, it wasn't inconsistent. News can be uploaded quickly to the website, a story that might not be in the paper until after it has been broken on their website. Each story is packed with comments and views, again with links to Twitter and Facebook and social networking, suggesting the community feel of a newspaper can reach so far through one medium.

Tuesday 30 August 2011

Font Experiment

Having looked at fonts, I wanted to trial via the use of websites such as 1001 free fonts, which I used previously for my AS task, search for the best font, which can portray my house style, brand and image of my local newspaper, the Element.

Using 1001 free fonts I have found the following fonts I like and have customised to my 'Element' title:





All of these are in black and because of the website and download conditions unlike pre-set fonts, they would stay in this colour, not that black isn't common to local newspaper logos, as I have already found out.

Font

The font as I have highlighted is crucial to my newspaper and brand that will follow through into my poster. I have selected a varying selection of newspaper titles from both national and local papers.
I already know my main case study uses a basic standard black font with serif lettering and this is likely to be a similar font I will use for the paper name.
Although for the inside headlines another font will be used and changed depending on the layout of the articles such as the size of font and the colour, perhaps black or grayscale.

The Western Daily Press is a local newspaper to the Bristol area although it's readership has lowered in recent years since the Evening Post has established itself as the number one paper in the area. The font is classic, in terms of the clear black font, and I like the personal 'WESTERN' which gives the paper an identity and location rather than just a name such as the 'Element' , the name of my newspaper. 

The Bristol Evening Post logo isn't black although remains fairly bland and it's this simple font that makes it's house style work. The font appears bolder and the lettes are more solid and heavier in appearance. They are block letters which gives the name and brand some emphasis and status, just through the logo. 

Similar to the Western Daily Press, the Manchester Evening News is a local paper to the Manchester area, an the logo represents this with the location, what it is, news and simply in a shaped standard serif font. 

This logo is from the Derby Telegraph and I like the bold black font with the italics enable the 'Telegraph' to take priority over Evening and its once again simple but effective. A recurring theme in the local newspaper logos. 

Taken from the Newcastle Evening Chronicle, I like the logo as it uses a small amount of colour, something I am keen to incorporate in my newspaper, although perhaps not in the logo. The line underneath the name, gives a statement as well visually appearing, neat, smart and compact, perhaps alike the paper? A tidy logo.

A national paper, but with a black font? The broadsheet logo is iconic and this sort of font wouldn't be applicable to my paper purely because it belongs to the Telegraph and is commonly associated with that paper. The font is Olde English style and as my newspaper would be fresh and modern, it wouldn't reflect the context of my newspaper.

The Daily Mirror is another national newspaper, a renowned tabloid, a red-top, tagged as that due to its colour scheme and house style. This sort of font appears quite common although it's too tabloid orientated to appear as my logo, or anything similar. My newspaper also wouldn't be daily as the national papers are, instead 'the Element' will congregate the week's local news in a compact paper. 

The guardian, a broadsheet newspaper, recognised for its credibility. Perhaps it has something to do with the minimalist but stylish font and house style. I like the second tone 'the' with the word 'guardian' taking priority. One of my favourite examples, and this sort of font could certainly apply to the local newspaper as well. With a dash of colour. 

The Sun, arguably the most well-known tabloid newspaper, associated with the scrapped News of the World, that saga highlights the difference in a paper like the Sun with the guardian, although the font is classic. Bold. Clear. Bright. The Sun is highly successful and the colour scheme works for its target audience although it wouldn't for mine. A local paper as my questionnaire has taught me is contrasting to a tabloid, in what the reader wants, expects or is.