In Modern Newspaper Design Compiled by Dianne Smith, CJE Alief Hastings High School Houston, Texas August, 1999

Aka “FILL THE RECTANGLE.” no snaky text.

Newspaper Design Trends Newspapers have undergone many design changes over the years to make them more attractive to the reader.

Because newspapers must compete with broadcast media with their heavy emphasis on graphics, newspapers have had to update their image to include bigger, more exciting graphics, color, interesting type and other visual elements.

One of the major trends in newspaper design is to arrange elements in rectangular modules, which assist the designer in packaging the stories on the page.

Everything that goes with a story or a concept is “packaged” together in a rectangular shape. This includes the:

1. text

2. headline

1. text 2. headline 3. photos

1. Text 2. headline 3. photos 4. byline

1. text 2. headline 3. photos 4. byline 5. any other elements Pullout Quote Thumbnail picture of reporter Jump line Photo caption

All of these elements, which are related to the same story are packaged together in a rectangularm odule.

Everything else on the page is also “packaged” in modules with related elements.

Modular design begins with a dummy sheet with the modules drawn in.

The individual modules are then “built” using text, headlines, art/photos and white space.