Raising the Bar and Resources to help you stay there SHORTCOURSE IN PAGE DESIGN TEXAS NEWSPAPER FOUNDATION TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

Four tips for raising the bar

The four tips 1. BS

“The greatest way to find ideas is to simply look around.” — Robin Williams Designer, consultant, author of Design Workshop Brainstorm

Individual Sessions with 6 to 10 Groups of 2 or 3 Brainstorm

Open minded Open mouth No boundaries No bad ideas Be curious first Beware the Killer phrases Brainstorm

The Killer phrases It will never work Not enough time No money Boss won’t like it We’ve always done it this way Sounds like something my kids would say Let’s get a committee to look into it Last person who said that is gone That’s a great idea, but not for us We tried that before No Brainstorm

The launch pad Who, what, where, when, why? How does it work? What is next? What happened to get us here? How can you tell the story? How would someone else view this? How would someone else tell this story? How would this work as a movie, a TV show, a commercial, a book, a billboard, a web site? Brainstorm

The sketch pad Write it down in your notebook Draw it out Type it into your computer Write it on big sheets of paper Write it on a big white board Write it on little cards Tape stuff to the walls Use Visual Thinking © techniques Brainstorm

Visual Thinking © BeforeDuringAfter HistoryPlanning Old photos Sketches Oldest person best memories Maps Grounds How to get there Where to stay Who sets up Stuff stored Stuff shipped Training EVENT Brainstorm Photo Gallery Online Photos

Brainstorm

The four tips 1. BS 2. Plan ahead

“The first real design steps are the story assignments.” — Mario Garcia Designer, consultant, redesign specialist Plan ahead

1.Keep (and use) a calendar 2.Use a budget 3.Keep a teaser file - clips, rips and stuff - post its - bookmarks 4.Take advantage of opportunities - people, places and things 5. Have a plan “B”

Plan ahead

The four tips 1. BS 2. Plan ahead 3. Play

Play Let content drive Keep the reader in mind Failure is an experience Every once in awhile… …START OVER!

What will the reader think? “Readers were far more flexible and responsive to innovation than we had dared to dream.” — Ed Miller Former publisher and editor of The Morning Call

Play

The four tips 1. BS 2. Plan ahead 3. Play 4. KISS

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” — Leonardo da Vinci Designer, consultant, redesign specialist Simplicity