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The final project
Your final project
is to design EITHER:
1. The front page
of a newspaper with a Web site
- OR -
2. A newspaper features
page with a Web site.
Students will form into groups of three for this assignment.
I would suggest that you seek out partners with complementary skills.
For instance, someone who is primarily a wordsmith might seek out
someone who is more of a visual thinker. A writer might pair up
with a photographer or artist, for example. However, this is just
a suggestion. The composition of a group is up to the students.
But, no more than three students per group, please.
For this assignment you need to:
1. Read the Harrower textbook, especially Chapter 8.
2. Study a variety of newspapers and Web sites. Use the links on my Web site for
examples of newspapers from around the country and the world. You'll
find links to design tips there as well.
3. Pick up out-of-town newspapers that you can get at local newsstands.
Study them to discover how they bring different elements together
to create a "look." Consider what elements you want to borrow (or
steal) to create your design.
4. Decide what kind of market your newspaper will have. Is it a
large metropolitan or a small suburban newspaper? Come up with a
name for your newspaper. Give it a town, either fictitious or real.
5.
Make sure you create a complete newspaper page, with all the elements.
6. Using elements stolen from - or borrowed - from other newspapers
create a unique look for your newspaper. Consider use of type, photos,
graphics, cutlines. ect. You will develop a style
guide for your newspaper by March 10, in which you will establish
what kind of fonts and typsetting tools you will use for bylines,
cutlines, credits, factoids, refers, indexes, etc. You may amend
your style guide later on, but I want you to have something to work
with by March 10.
7. You'll build your
newspapers with Indesign and Photoshop and will email me the
results as an Acrobat PDF by April 23. I'd like to see early versions before
you hit deadline. We can talk later about what sort of files you
should use.
8. Then, you will work up a Web version of the newspaper using Dreamweaver. You may use the Web sites for the newspapers that inspired your print version, or you may draw from other news Web sites for inspiration. You can continue to tweak your print version, but both the print and Web versions must be submitted by May 7. Tweaking your print version will be useful because you will probably realize you have online elements that you want to promo in your print newspaper.
9. The Web version will also need to include a simple video. I can help you with that, but it needs only be a video of at least a few seconds that can be embedded from YouTube. By the way, your Web projects will be posted on my Web site: www.edbond.com.
10. Your final project needs to include a sheet to explains your newspaper and Web site.
Here are some newspapers I would encourage you to seek out and study:
The Orange County Register
The San Jose Mercury News
The Oregonian
USA Today
(But of course, I would not limit you to these. These are simply
considered among the best designed newspapers in the country.)
Here's the timetable:
Feb. 19 . Notify me of who you are working with, or
if you need help finding a partner.
March 10: Style guide due. Start showing early versions
of your pages in class.
April 23: News pages for print due.
May 7: Web pages and final versions of news pages due.
This will be worth one-fourth of your final grade. Good luck.
NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGES
Here
are some examples of previous student front pages that I found to
be successful. They work because they are well thought out, well
executed, with an attention to detail that makes them nearly professional.
Project 1
Project 2
Project 3
Project
4
Project
5
Project
6
Project
7
For more examples of newspaper front pages, go to:
NewsDesigner.com
The Newseum
NEWSPAPER FEATURE PAGES
Here are some examples of professional feature pages. Note the
diversity of styles and the occasional use of visual metaphors
along with a sense of fun.
Josh Bohling, The Virginia-Pilot
Jackie Avila, Star-Telegram
Rick Konopka, The Arizona Republic
Tan Ly, The Washington Post
Danielle Levkovits, Al Dia
For both types
of pages, also check out the work of student journalists from
around the country at College
Front Page.
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