Busy news week
There’s been a whole lot of news coming out of Rochester in the last couple of weeks. But I’ve enjoyed working on this mix of news ranging from a mysterious plane crash that killed two local luminaries, the death of a police officer and multiple angles coming from the Bills football team (a new owner, Kelly’s cancer in remission and opening season).
I’ve been very proud of the work coming from both the studio and the newsroom. The hustle has been exciting.
Breaking news
On a normal day just one of these two stories would have kept us plenty busy. However this past Friday, on a day we were already planning continuing coverage of a police officers tragic death in Rochester, we also got word that the mysterious, unmanned flight that crossed over Cuba and ultimately crashed near Jamaica originated in Rochester. We would later learn the occupants were a couple of local Rochester visionaries that had been integral in the revitalization of that city.
So it was in the later hours of that Friday that both these weekend pages were born. Are there things that I would change or tweak and improve? Sure, of course. But considering the what we were up against I think these pages turned out pretty well.
Sunday 08-03-2014
Recent work for two different newspapers on the same Sunday. Working in the design studio allows us to work not only for different markets, but different markets in different states.
Funny, now looking at those two pages I see that I used similar color palettes for them both.
Democrat and Chronicle
I’ve been enjoying my work with the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle lately. They do a nice job of allowing us to try new things. I like that I can explore the most effective way to visualize and aid in the storytelling most suitable for each story. Here are a couple of recent examples.
Striking the right tone
A good story sets a tone and sticks with it. A good design takes the lead set forth by the tone of the story to reinforce it.
For this design I worked with the newsroom to make sure the tone of the design was appropriate and served the storytelling. Selecting the right photos, typography and presentation style helps to facilitate the communication, and the connection made with the readers.
The Hood Sommelier
Thought I’d tout the design I cooked up for my own personal wine blog built using WordPress and a theme I purchased. As you can see I came up with my own branding and customized the theme for a tailored look.
The concept for the blog is to take a more lighthearted look at the stuffy world of wine. My tagline is “Drink more wine. Have more fun.” I don’t believe that to enjoy wine you need to reference obscure “notes” that in fact mostly serve to alienate people from becoming more familiar and exploring their tastes for wine. I also don’t believe you need to spend a butt-load of money on wines, except for those sometimes splurges.
… and sometimes I write headlines
It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it pleases me very much.
Go team!
Here are a couple of examples of the kind of ego-less teamwork that makes me love going into the studio. Illustrations by JoAnne, promo by Dana and design by me. This is what getting through rough patches in the week is all about.
