STYLES

WRITING

  • Style guides
    • "Associated Press Stylebook"
    • "Chicago Manual of Style"
  • They show what to do in certain situations

WRITING

  • Big organizations need to ensure consistency
  • Consistency => professionalism => credibility

EXAMPLES

  • How do you abbreviate "Missouri"?
    • Postal Service: MO
    • AP style: Mo.
  • How do you abbreviate "Illinois"?
    • Postal Service: IL
    • AP Style: Ill.

DESIGN

Just as newspapers need consistency in writing,
they also need visual consistency

DESIGN is not decoration

If each page was a designer's playground —
with different fonts, boxes, rules, and spacing —
readers would get lost and lose trust in us

DESIGNERS ARE VISUAL JOURNALISTS

  • Design choices communicate information
  • We help readers by organizing, making hierarchy

design style rules

  • Modular or non-modular?
  • Structure: What grids are available?
  • Separation: How do we set stories apart?
  • Fonts: Which families do we use, and when?
  • Photos: How should they be cropped? Illustrations?

STYLES ≠ LEGALISM

  • Styles are not straitjackets on creativity.
  • Make choices based on good reasons. 
  • Divergence as a design tool
    • Only possible with consistent adherence
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