Originally created by a former student, Joseph Mullen, with edits/additions from me.

1. Design So Cool
It Will Make
Your Eyes BleedKarl Grubaugh
Adviser, Granite Bay Gazette
With credit to Joseph Mullen,
former Gazette co-editor-in-chief

2. Key Points!
1.Go BIG!(The concept is DOMINANCE)

3. When you have a terrific photo,
RUN IT
REALLY
LARGE!
Don’t waste it.
But be thoughtful about how to use
it. The designer used the dark
feathers as a perfect place to run
reverse text without having to add
some kind of cheesy shadow box
to make the text visible.

4. BEFORE AFTER
Notice the
tight
cropping
of the
pictures
and
effective
teasers.
COUNT THE
FACES

5. I like the
rodent
package on
the first
page, the
fish
package on
the second
page. Nice
use of
creative
white
space.
RULE
VIOLATION!
Non-
modular
design …
where?
Does it
work?

6. Nice
cropping
and NICE
use of
cutout on
first one.
Notice
creative
packaging
on both
pages.

7. Key Points!
2. Text as Art

8. Great
headline
treatments,
fantastic
cutout on
number 2.
OH MY
GOSH, TIGER
IS
COVERING
UP OTHER
THINGS!!!
Yes…that’s
what we
call
thinking
outside of
the box

9. Nice use of
color on first
one. Take
lackluster
photo and
make it an
interesting
overall
package.
(Photoshop
tip: color
sampling
from the
photo for use
on the font.)
Nice use of
creative
crops and
photos on
second one.

10. Great faces
on first one:
COUNT THE
FACES! Cool
use of
photo
illustration
on second
one, but
notice that
the
illustration
doesn’t
stand
alone.

11. Great infographic
on the left -- cool
headlines and
judicious use of
color. Photo
illustration is
relevant because
PHOTOGRAPHER
AND WRITER AND
EDITOR
COMMUNICATED!

12. Key Points!
3. Dance with the
one who brung ya.
(Take advantage of what you’ve got to work with.)

13. Emphasis is put on photo, tons of
white space but it WORKS.
Huge typeface makes it more
interesting – simple but bold

14. Key Points!
4. Use COLOR well!

15. BEFORE AFTER
Notice the
professional
quality of the
after page –
it’s much
cleaner
looking than
the first one.
(Word ‘Sushi’
in first head
is incredibly
cliché.) Also
has creative
teasers.

16. Cool head
treatment
Cool info-
graphic
and text
shape

17. REALLY cool
cutouts on
first one. You
can cover up
your flag –
People know
by now
whether it’s
news,
lifestyle,
voices,
sports, or
whatever.
Nice
infographics
on second
one as well.

18. You can design two facing pages as a double truck!

19. Nice cutout, defies modular design but
WORKS!
Also, notice they toned down the teasers
and photos on other stories to draw
attention to main package
Don’t use color
just for the sake
of color. First
one is much
more effective
with limited
color. Too many
colors looks …
cheap.

20. Key Points!
5. Use Lots of
Points of Entry
(And you need to play with Illustrator to help create
illustrations and infographics!)

21. Complex, but works. Informative.

22. Terrific use of color – but label it as a photo illustration!

23. Boring
photos
made more
interesting
through
effective
design.
Nice macro shots, repetition can
be very effective;, color
sampling/matching gives the
package on the left some visual
consistency.

24. Text can be a graphic: be creative!

25. Key Points!
6. Headlines
matter!
(Take the time to make them great!)

26. Tie your headlines into your photos – a little irony is great for capturing attention

27. There is a
nice
juxtaposition
of fonts on
the first
page, and the
repetition of
the photos
makes a cool
playbill
effect. The
second one
uses
illustrative
photos on
the top and a
subtly nice
headline
treatment
with the S
going into
the photo.

28. The first one illustrates a nice use of a single color.
The second one is just awesome with the infographics.

29. First one is a
cool and
creative way to
use graphs
other than
standard Excel
graphs. The
second one
uses a powerful
illustration that
employs
repetition and
pops of color
that make it
really work.

30. First one is creative solution to typical Christmas gift
package. Nice illustration that chunks the story well.
The second one is a great use of infographic,
differentiating Porsche cars from others by color pops.
Color is cohesive and infographic is simple to follow.

31. Terrific crops on photos; the crops frame stories well.

32. Great tabloid front, very powerful and representative photo. B+W package on second one
is effective for the tone of the story, and cutout is dominant without hogging ALL the space

33. Tone on left is somber; effectively builds on the photo. Prayers listed down the side is a nice
touch. Second one has creative headline treatment by playing with size, leading.

34. INSPIRATION INTERPRETATION
Joseph took a page design he saw online and reinterpreted/applied it to the Gazette
using his Illustrator techniques and the text of the story as the walls. STEAL IDEAS!!!!!

35. First package is serious to match story, toned
down, but effective. Use sparingly.
Clever and very nice illustration on second one,
colorful. Again, matches mood of story with design

36. When used sparingly and professionally,
type as a graphic can be very effective and
impactful. The simple black and white
ironically mirror the subject matter of the
story. Again, RUN IT BIG for more impact!

37. Effective illustrations are relatively simple, but impactful. Again, colors are cohesive.

38. Nice illustration, with excellent use of
white space
Again, nice somber photo, B+W is
appropriate to story

39. Creative content and stories create impact
and interest. CONTENT MATTERS
Nice graphic for the story, very
understandable and clear.

40. First one is a nice use of cohesive colors . Second one uses onomatopoeia in the
headline and clear infographics to illustrate story.

41. Stunning!
A nice macro
shot,
appropriate
use of color
(note drop cap);
gray
background
mimics color of
the fork and
helps the color
of the cherry
and juice to
really pop off
the page
Nice alternative
story package
on second one
– make it a
game! Needs
communication
to work

42. Great cropping on first one, adds impact to
photo. Second one has one of the greatest
headlines I’ve ever seen. Period.

43. Nice photo-illustration in first one, lime green and black pair nicely.
Disney teaser in the second one is simply fabulous.

44. http://www.bestfrontdesign.com/archives.htm
My web page is at:
Granitebayhigh.org
Academics>social studies>Karl Grubaugh
kgrubaugh@rjuhsd.us
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