garciamedia

May. 29th The Harvard Crimson

In 2003, The Harvard Crimson commissioned Garcia Media to redesign the entire paper and its award-winning magazine supplement, Fifteen Minutes, and to introduce full color to both.

The project was a successful partnership of one of America’s oldest and best-edited college newspapers with the top design firm in the nation.

Following a four-month process of prototyping, training, and implementation, the new look for news sections made its debut Jan. 12, 2004. In addition to creating nearly 100 prototype pages for the consideration of the editors, Garcia Media also presented a number of formal and informal training sessions to bring the staff up to date on modern editing, planning, and visualizing techniques. Garcia Media also created complete InDesign templates, and an 80-page guide to Crimson philosophy and design style.

The Fifteen Minutes redesign was a milestone, its first major overhaul in some time, and distinctly different in most aspects from the design of the main newspaper. Story structures, color palette, grid and typography were all created anew. Staff training in design, page architecture, and creativity were integral parts of the project, said project manager Ron Reason.

The new look, and accompanying improvements in newsroom culture, were a big hit with the all-student staff. Hayley Barna, Crimson Design Editor for 2004, said:

“The redesign of Fifteen Minutes, even in its first week of adoption, has drastically improved the magazine. Not only does the publication have a new
look that works well with our diverse content, but our approach to designing the magazine has changed for the better. With established styles and a firm grid to work with, production has been streamlined and simplified. Yet the redesign has also given us freedom to be creative within the new structure, allowing us to stay true to the magazine’s mission of being fresh, edgy and surprising, while keeping our look consistent.“

Said Erica Katalin Jalli, Crimson President: “The new Fifteen Minutes design is great. I really believe it will come to life as we print more and more pages in full color. I can’t wait!“

Posted by Ron Reason on May 29, 2007