By Erik Wemple
Washington City Paper
WASHINGTON — The Washington Post is undergoing a remarkable shrinking act, with some sections folding and others taking on more complicated identities. Making it all happen will require some tweaks to the paper’s design. The paper’s Web site, washingtonpost.com, has long had layout problems of its own-a crowded homepage that poses something of a gantlet for users in search of their favorite blogs and articles.

That’s where Roger Black comes in. The paper has contracted with this renowned New York design guru to redo its newspaper and Web site. In recent weeks, Black has been meeting with staffers to get their ideas on freshening the look of the Post brand.

Like all deliberative processes at the Post, this one won’t spawn a revolution. “Instead of a redesign, it’ll be much more of a cleaning up of visually contrasting elements,” says a Post source, referring to “typefaces changing from section to section,” among other minor design problems.

In a Wednesday meeting with a group of newsroom leaders, Black pushed his audience to think expansively about what the paper needs and what it can eliminate. One attendee says Black will be focusing on how to fit the Post’s journalism in an ever-shrinking news hole, as well as coming up with “strategies for helping stories pop off the page more.”

For Full Story

Filed under: Guild News