Small Papers, Big Ideas

Javier Errea gave this presentation in the Gold Room in Spanish this morning. Translation headsets were provided, but there were quite a few native speakers in attendance. Mr. Errea used examples of work at Heraldo de Aragon and Diaro de Noticias to raise some interesting questions about the design industry: Why not go tabloid? Is "tabloid" more about size or more about frame of mind? Mr. Errea also poked fun a little about consulting work, how consultants are seen to have all the answers and yet are never wrong. But, he pointed out, a newspaper always needs to consider whether something they are doing (even if the consultant suggests it) is really for the readers, or if it is just a cost-cutting venture. He suggested that the design of a paper always needed to reflect the paper's soul.

Perhaps the most interesting thing from the lecture was one question Mr. Errea raised that stirred some debate in the Q&A. Mr. Errea pointed out that some of the most well-designed pages were the least newsworthy. "What are we rewarding at SND?" he asked. Although many companies still trust a face-lift as a solution to circulation problems, is this using our agenda-setting power well? Who decides that the gray, newsy pages are "ugly" anyway? After Mr. Errea made these comments, one man in the Q&A stood and asserted that we weren't journalists — we are artists, and so we shouldn't worry about newsworthiness as much as we should worry about drawing the readers in through a colorful front page. It was an interesting discussion that goes to the heart of our role and identity as designers.