How to Design a Newspaper Feature Page

At one time, newspapers were all about the printed word. They still are, to some extent because they offer the space to tell more in-depth stories. Yet, long stories without the proper presentation are something newspaper editors dread. No one will read them, no matter how well they’re written because in this fast-paced world, images flash at us constantly. Without images, interesting stories go unread.So editors and paginators need to know how to put together good looking pages with life, color and readability.

Things You'll Need

• Apple Macintosh computer
• Adobe Photoshop
• QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign

Instructions

1. 

   Look at feature pages. Get as many newspapers as you can and look at the lifestyles, business, entertainment, travel and other feature pages. Get a sense of what works and what doesn’t. It’s easy to do it because you can go with what you like. If a Lifestyles page entices you, makes you want to read the stories, that’s a good page. If it doesn’t, it isn’t.

2. 

   Sort out what you have to work with for each feature page. In this case, we’ll focus on a lifestyles page, an area of most newspapers with the most flexibility for trying new designs. There are two ways to do this, depending on time. Ideally, envision the entire lifestyles package then sit down with the reporter who will write the story, the photographer who will take the photos and the graphic artist who will help you get the right art to go with the story. Unfortunately, most feature page designers don’t have that kind of time, especially at small newspapers, so you can assign the story to the reporter and have the reporter coordinate with the photographer or take photos himself or herself.

3. Read the story. This will give you a sense of the tone of the piece. It can help you decide which photos to use when you look at them and might start generating ideas for artwork, too. Then take a look at all available photos. You may not be able to use all of them, but they may suggest ideas. For example, on a feature about the Knights of Columbus, along with photos of the members doing their club business, the photographer might shoot the plaque on the wall that sports the K of C logo. This particular logo is diamond-shaped. By itself, it’s not very interesting. By cutting it out in the diamond shape and inserting it into the text on the page, cause the text to flow around it, you can create a quick reference-point graphic.

4. 

   Open the feature page template and import the text. If you have a graphic that will make the text flow around it in the design, bring that in next. Bring all the photos onto the margins of the page and look at it in fit to window view. What photo jumps out as the best image for dominant art? What image do you need, despite it not being very good? Take the big photo and position it first. The text and this image will give you a sense of the flow of the rest of the page.

5. 

   Try several different design possibilities if you don’t get a real sense of how it should look at first. There’s no harm in trying other things. You might find something you never thought of before that looks great.

6. 

   Use Photoshop or another graphics program to create the larger headline of the two. Most feature pages have a two or three-word big headline and regular or “drop” headline with more information beneath or beside it. By using the text styles available in Photoshop to create the bigger head, you can really draw attention to the page. For example, on a feature page about bow hunter practice centers, the bigger headline was green like Robin Hood’s outfit with a graphic of an archer tucked into it. It read: “Take a Bow.”

7. 

   Have other people take a look at the page and give you their opinions. You don’t have to follow anything they say, but having other eyes on the page can give you sense of how the public will see it.

Tips & Warnings

• Simpler is better.

• People like to see people in photos because it helps them to empathize with the story. Always try to use people pictures as dominant art.

• Don’t be afraid of white space. Used correctly, blank spaces on pages can frame and focus readers’ attention on the art and the story.