The Chicago Tribune launched a redesign today.
On the left is Tuesday’s front page. On the right is today’s new front page.
Click those or any of today’s images to see a larger version.
Here’s a closer look at today’s front, designed by Kenney Marlatt and Michelle Rowan.
The thing that immediately jumps out at you is the artwork in the nameplate. Today’s nameplate art is a stylized view of the Chicago skyline.
That is one of the nameplate illustrations that will rotate atop A1 from day to day. Here is another — the iconic tower that houses the Tribune itself.
The Tribune today gave a preview of what it called “a few of the illustrations you’ll see” in the nameplate. The third one shown here is of Buckingham Fountain.
If you live in Chicago, then you think of Buckingham Fountain as a key landmark in Grant Park. If you don’t live in Chicago, then you think of Buckingham Fountain in the opening credits of the old TV show Married… With Children.
You’ll also note the removal of the drop-shadow from around the logotype itself, and, perhaps, a deepening of the Tribune blue. Here’s a look at Chicago Tribune nameplates over the years:
The upper two-thirds of that collection was compiled by Mark Friesen of the old NewsDesigner blog.
The first blue-on-white nameplate was redrawn by Jim Parkinson in January 2008. It looks as if the drop-shadow version — which debuted in September of that year — used Jim’s updated lettering. The new version simply restores Jim’s three-year-old work.
The Tribune also changed the typeface it uses for basic body copy — its first such change since 1993.
Assistant managing editor Joe Knowles tells us the redesign project was led by Chuck Burke, Jordan Dziura, Melissa Clay and Jonathon Berlin.
Joe tells us:
The biggest deal is the added content: 40 to 44 open pages per week.
Much of that space will be devoted to long-form stories and analysis (plus lots of nice graphics, I hope). It’s an aggressive expansion of the News Focus concept that we introduced in 2008.
The Trib is adding…
- Six new Chicagoland pages per week
- 10 new nation and world pages per week
- 12 new business pages per week
- Four new opinion and perspective pages per week
- 10 new arts and entertainment pages per week
- Two new pages per Sunday edition
Joe writes:
These three pages are examples of our new Focus pages — single-subject pages scattered throughout the paper.
Today’s pages have a black reverse bar that probably won’t remain once the redesign is fully implemented. Here’s the nation and world Focus page.
Here’s a Chicagoland-oriented Focus page from today’s paper.
And this is a Focus page added to today’s business section.
Note the lavish use of graphics.
Joe notes:
The Perspective chapter opener was designed by Mike Miner.
Here’s a before-and-after of the Tribune’s Good Eating section. The page on the right is today’s section front.
Here’s a closer look at today’s front.
Joe writes:
I’m also including a prototype version of our new Dining section, which makes its debut on Thursday, replacing the Play section.
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UPDATE:
Yes, the Trib still publishes its tabloid single-copy edition. Today’s front, from Kenney Marlatt:
The broadsheet is the home-delivered edition.
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As they say: But wait! There’s more!
The Tribune redesigned its web page back on Monday. With all the blue still atop page one of the print edition, it seems a bit odd to find all that plain ol’ black across the top of the online edition.
Read all about the online changes here.
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The redesign is being promoted today with a Spadea that wraps around the A section. Here is the front flap of that Spadea, along with the inside flap. Again, click either for a larger view.
Here are pages three and four of the Spadea.
The Tribune has also created a video to help promote the changes. Unfortunately, I can’t embed the video here, so you’ll have to scroll down this page and view it there.
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Read about the online changes here.
Download a PDF of the Tribune‘s Spadea here.
Find the Chicago Tribune‘s “Trib Nation” Facebook page here.
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Read here about a January 2008 update of the Tribune nameplate.
Read about a September 2008 redesign of the Chicago Tribune here.
Read here about tweaks made to that design in January 2009. Read here about a mirror tab edition that debuted that same month.
