Newspaper J 464/564 | WINTER TERM | STEVEN ASBURY

Winter 2013, Tu-Th, 4:00-5:50 p.m. • Color: Basic color theory, how to build a color palette and Steven Asbury how to get sophisticated, professional-looking results. Office hours: By appointment. E-mail: [email protected] Philosophy Website: http://jcomm.uoregon.edu/~sasbury design is about information as much as decoration. Think of yourselves as visual , not Books just decorators. You’ll be the newsroom experts on how The ’s Handbook 7th ed., to combine text, graphics and photos to explain stories to Tim Harrower, (McGraw-Hill, 2007). readers. Note: If you already have the 6th edition, that should work fine. Grading Amazon.com is offering free 2-day shipping for students. Grades will be based on the following formula: Participation/Discussion * 25% Software/Labs Design projects/in-class exercises 25% The majority of the coursework will require you to create Quizzes 25% pages using Adobe InDesign and/or Quark XPress. It is very Final project ** 25% important that you take the time to learn these programs early in the course as several class exercises will require you * At the beginning of each class, you’ll be asked to show an to use this software to create pages “on deadline.” example of an outstanding page design. This can be a page from a local paper, a , or found online. Course overview The class will cover ... Attendance is mandatory, and it’s important that you • News design: Learn how to manage breaking-news design. contribute to class discussions and critiques. I’ll also be Plus, how to make ordinary pages look stunning, design looking for improvement in your each week. effective centerpieces, and plan news packages. ** At the end of the term you will turn in a portfolio of • Features design: How to think outside the grid and at least 10 newspaper pages in tabloid size. It can include approach design from an artistic perspective. Learn how to pages from class exercises, but the section flags and design create cutouts and other special effects. style should be unique to your fictional newspaper. Your portfolio should include at least one front page, inside page, • Sports design: How to keep sports pages as exciting as the sports page, food page and feature page. This should be a game. professional-looking presentation you could take to a job interview. • : Your computer comes with hundreds of fonts. Learn how to choose the right and how to get professional-looking typography.

• : How to get better photos on your pages – from the photo assignment to the process. Understand image formats (tiff, PSD, gif, jpeg) and what works best. How to crop a photo for greater impact, color- correction, and how to set up images for the press. Design projects Please note that you need to allocate time Grading for design projects will be based on the same for technical problems, closed computer labs, criteria that use. This includes ... computer problems, printing problems and other contengicies. Late work will NOT be • Typography. We’ll discuss this in depth the second week accepted. of class. I expect to see professional-looking typography in all your projects. Your work needs to be completed before class begins. • Readability. Remember that we’re designing for Assignments that are being printed after class has started newspapers — not . Printing on newsprint is will be considered late and will not be accepted. like putting ink on wet sponge. Small reverse type (white letters on black backgrounds) and small type in color Attendance won’t print well on newspaper printing presses. Attendance is required. In professional , • Visual communication. How well does the page explain you’re expected to show up for work no the story? How well does the design communicate to the matter how much partying you did the night reader? before. Makeup work will be allowed in the case of • Overall aesthetics. How does is look? Is there a unavoidable circumstances, but I need to be told about hierarchy of images and headlines? this before the class is scheduled to meet, either in person • Grammar/spelling. Readers don’t see the difference or e-mail. Acceptable excuses include a religious holiday, between errors committed by writers and those from family emergency, or a job interview that cannot be page . All your graphics and headlines need to be rescheduled. Missing classes without an valid excuse will grammatically correct. lower your grade.

Grading scale for page designs • Attendance is mandatory. Attendance will be taken daily. F - Page is late The instructor’s gradebook is the official record. D - Page has serious flaws and/or grammatical errors • Come to class on time. Being late for class or leaving C - Page is generally well designed, but has some flaws early will count as partial absence at the instructor’s B - Page is clean, well-designed and some elements discretion. exceed expectations for publication. • No missed classes without a doctor’s note, A - Page goes the extra mile. Designer has meet all basic proof of a job interview or verification of a standards AND added extras to enhance readability and family emergency or religious holiday. All overall aesthetics. other absences will be considered unexcused and result in an automatic, one-letter-grade Please note that a C is considered the baseline grade. Your reduction for the course. work will need to be exceptional to get a higher grade. • Three tardies is considered equal to one class absence. • Three absences results in failure of the course. For ease of production and printing, all design projects • If a student is absent, it is his/her responsibility to contact in class will be done on tabloid-sized pages (11x17). You the instructor prior to the class and be up-to-date for the need to bring 2 copies of each assignment to class – one next class. for group critiques and one for the instructor. Special Needs Deadlines If there is any student in this class who has special In the real world of journalism, a missed deadline by a needs because of a disability of any kind, please page designer can cost a newspaper thousands of dollars see me to discuss it. (overtime paid to the press crew and delivery people and cancelled subscriptions by angry readers). Breaking Academic dishonesty news, computer crashes, power outages, missing artwork, You’re expected to do your own designing in this class. and late stories happen in newsrooms across the country, Copying designs from other publications will result in an F but designers are still expected to always make deadline. in this course. Important passages in the Student Conduct Except in rare extraordinary circumstances, late work will Code are in the Schedule of Classes. not be accepted. On the other hand, I encourage you to solicit feedback on your designs from the instructor, other designers and your peers in class. Design should be a collaborative process. Newspaper Design J 464/564 | WINTER TERM | STEVEN ASBURY

JANUARY • Fonts, size, leading, JANUARY JANUARY kerning, alignment • Serif, transitional, modern (Didone), slab-serif, sans- serif, and novelty . • How to choose a 8 17 22 font and how to get CRITIQUE SESSION INTRODUCTIONS professional-looking PHOTOS AND ART • Quiz #2 (layout) • Review of class syllabus typography • Color models and • Local page critiques • Designing display formats for images (jpeg, tiff, BASIC DESIGN headlines eps, psd, etc.) WORK DUE PRINCIPLES • Using typography in • Resizing images • Local news page design • and grids headlines, decks and quotes • Getting good photos into • Points and Picas the paper • Example of outstanding design • Content-driven design WORK DUE • Working with • Modular layout, grids • Example of outstanding photographers WORK ASSIGNED • Dominance newspaper design • Good and bad photo • Pages without art assignments • Harrower Chapter 4 WORK ASSIGNED • How to crop a photo for WORK ASSIGNED • Study typography greater impact • Read Ron Reason’s handouts from class • Color-correction and “Please stop that.” • Read Harrower setting up images for the • Read New Rules for Chapter 1 printing press Newspapers • Photo ethics • Stand-alone photos WORK ASSIGNED • Color theory • Order the Newspaper JANUARY • Color models Designer’s Handbook • White • Bring an example of • In-class lab time newspaper design to class. WORK ASSIGNED • Local news page 15 • Harrower NEWS PAGE DESIGN chapters 2-3 JANUARY • Quiz #1 (Typography) • Page critiques WORK DUE • Redesign a national news • National news page. page 10 • Example of WORK DUE outstanding TYPOGRAPHY • Example of outstanding design • Postscript vs. bitmap design

syllabus IS subject to change WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE JANUARY JANUARY FEBRUARY FEBRUARY

24 31 5 7 PAGE 1 DESIGN CURRENT TRENDS CRITIQUE SESSION SPORTS PAGES • Quiz #3 (photos) • New newspaper design • Page critiques • Sports design • Examples of page one • The future of newspapers • Quiz #4 (sidebars and the design WORK ASSIGNED: maestro process, Harrower • Sidebar types MAESTRO PROCESS • Read “New Rules for chapters 4-6.) • Maestro process Newspapers” WORK DUE • Being proactive WORK DUE • Example of outstanding • How to draw a map WORK DUE • Example of outstanding design • Page 1 design newspaper design WORK DUE WORK ASSIGNED • Example of outstanding WORK ASSIGNED • Page 1 design newspaper design • Sports page

WORK ASSIGNED: WORK ASSIGNED • Harrower - Chapter 4 • Page 1 design (second • Page one design version) FEBRUARY

JANUARY 12 CRITIQUE SESSION • Sports page critique • InDesign tips 29 CRITIQUE SESSION • Page one critiques FEBRUARY WORK DUE • Page 1 design • Example of outstanding newspaper design 14 WORK ASSIGNED FEATURE PAGES • Harrower - Chapters 5-6 • Feature design • Read “How to sell more • Cutouts and other newspapers” at BrassTracks special effects. Design. WORK ASSIGNED • Harrower - Chapter 7 • Food page

WORK DUE • Example of outstanding design FEBRUARY WORK DUE MARCH MARCH • Example of outstanding newspaper design

WORK ASSIGNED 19 • Nameplate and promos 5 7 CRITIQUE SESSION BREAKING NEWS REVIEW FEATURE PAGES • Food page critiques • Group critiques • Feature page design FEBRUARY • Discussion - What worked WORK DUE and what didn’t WORK DUE • Food page • Tabloid covers • Example of outstanding • Example of outstanding • Quiz #5 design design. 28 WORK ASSIGNED WORK ASSIGNED FEATURE PAGES • Read Bakersfield • Tabloid cover • Feature page assignment BREAKING NEWS Californian Breaks New • Breaking news assignment Ground Again WORK DUE • Example of outstanding MARCH newspaper design

WORK ASSIGNED • Feature page assignment 12 CRITIQUE SESSION FEBRUARY • Page critiques REDESIGNS • Approaching a redesign 21 WORK DUE • Example of outstanding Guest speaker design • Feautre page

WORK ASSIGNED • Final project FEBRUARY 26 MARCH DESIGN 14 • Feature pages • Promo design FINAL PROJECT • How to write effective promos and teasers WORK DUE • How to approach • Final project. breaking news • Resume design