February 22, 2010
The new Observer
It seems sometimes as if The Observer has been in a more or less permanent state of relaunch. Despite being around since 1791, it now regularly lurches from crisis to crisis, the latest being a rumoured plan to close the newspaper and relaunch it as the Sunday edition of (it’s current owners) The Guardian.
How far that plan got is unclear, but the rumours started a small but influential campaign to save the paper, and, as I highlighted last week, the result was another relaunch yesterday (the press campaign for the redesign made prominent use of quotes from those who campaigned to save the paper).
Presumably one of the reasons behind this latest relaunch was a desire to cut costs, which has had the happy effect of a reduction in sections. This is the first success of the project, the new paper is much more manageable, and conflicts less with the multiple sections still hanging around from Saturday’s papers.
The two main newspaper sections remain – the newspaper itself (above) and the Sports section. I never liked the previous design, I thought it too full of stylistic gimmicks, so it’s refreshing to see it simplified. Whether it retains enough character remains to be seen, but I worry it’s a little too simple. Time will tell, though. It’s all very readable and jumps straight in with longer analytical stories (the above pages are the first spread of yesterday’s paper) rather than hot news (the exception being the lead, an exclusive on Gordon Brown’s bullying of staff). The various sections are discreetly colour-coded, and a review of the week’s news follows later on in the section, acknowledging the lowered priority of latest news in a Sunday paper these days.
The previous Sports section always carried a lead image on the front without a written story, and I like seeing the return of a lead story, despite the fact it’s an interview with least favourite man Alex Ferguson. The top of the page and Sports logo (below) look strangely weak though.
Perhaps the least succesful part of the package is the redesigned Observer magazine (above). Unlike the simplification of the rest of the package, this is highly designed yet feels too lightweight. There are some nice details – the way charts and image are added to the top of the page for instance (below) – but overall the magazine is just too slight.
There is too much squeezed into too little space – it’s suffered from being too small for several iterations now and the new version doesn’t alter that impression. If it had another 16 pages of strong feature content the busy front section might feel less of a burden, but that front part overwhelms the rest of the pages. The images here make the most of the design, it’s let down by the flimsiness of the actual thing.
I’ve saved the best bit for last. The New Review is the one part of the relaunch that might be considered almost revolutionary. I would happily forgo the rest of the package and just buy this – perhaps this is what will happen one day?
The New Review is the same Berliner format as the two newspaper sections already mentioned, but is printed on heavier newsprint. It cover the arts, science, culture and promises major reportage features. It does what the best publications do – lets you bump into material you might not usually read.
I always felt I should read the old Reviews section but never really engaged with it. With this new magazine – it’s more magazine than newspaper – I found myself enjoying book reviews and other elements I would otherwise have ignored. Both my wife and I throughly enjoyed reading the whole thing.
And the design? It must be doing something right, but like the other sections it’s a subtle, simple design that will take a few weeks living with before you really know if it’s working. First impressions, though, are good.
Overall, then, a generally successful relaunch, and certainly an improvement on the previous week’s edition. It’s not a spectacular shift along the lines of The Guardian’s last relaunch, but the New Review is a significant event for UK newspapers.
23 Comments
Comment on February 22, 2010 by Andrew says:
Interesting – looking forward to seeing it. Putting New Review on a different paper stock is a bold and interesting move. And it’s certainly a better New Review cover than the one you previewed a few days ago.
Comment on February 22, 2010 by peterson says:
Thanks for the insight. Very interesting.
Am I right in saying the food/music/sport monthly mags aren’t around anymore? That’s a pity.
What are the typefaces? What do we think of them? I feel like they don’t sit together so well, but it’s hard to tell on screen.
Thanks again.
dp
Comment on February 22, 2010 by James Kelleher says:
It might just have been the edition I got, but the print quality of the Magazine was shockingly bad. Photos were fine, but the text looked like it came from a laser printer on its last legs.
Comment on February 22, 2010 by Bully for The Observer « Paperhouse says:
[...] did a good launch. The redesign is subtle, efficient and readable – and, as Jeremy Leslie says, it benefits from cutting away a lot of the excess sections. A Sunday paper that doesn’t [...]
Comment on February 23, 2010 by Marc says:
I like it!! I don’t know if Mark Porter had anything to do with this re-design but you can definitely see his influence, which can only be a good thing.
Comment on February 23, 2010 by Tony Blow says:
Just like James, I was shocked by the poor print quality of the magazine. Actually, it looked more like a repro issue than a print problem … but the point stands. Small text was poorly rendered and heavier subheadings bled into near illegibility.
The new Review is a thing of great beauty, but I’m saddened by the editorial trend towards celebrity gossip and opinion.
Comment on February 23, 2010 by jeremy says:
A big thank you to Observer creative director Carolyn Roberts for responding quickly with the following typeface details.
The main headline font Mercury carries over from the previous design to provide a some familiarity, otherwise everything changes.
Prelo has been introduced across all sections. Various weights of Prelo Sans and Prelo Slab provide the major character pieces of the design, such as the untra-thin ‘Agenda’ heading shown above and the ‘New Review’ logo.
Comment on February 23, 2010 by Kevin Mears says:
Can I mention the frankly quite scary illustrations of the columnists in the magazine? I actually quite liked them.
I’d love to see more illustration in sections other than money and business. Would be good to see illustrators given some challenges to respond to more in-depth pieces.
Comment on February 23, 2010 by jeremy says:
More illustration always good. Except of course when bad, and those columnist portraits ARE scarey, like the ones in the Guardian Weekend magazine.
Comment on February 24, 2010 by Mike Koedinger says:
I love it!
Comment on February 24, 2010 by Jenne Grabowski says:
Looks good on these pics. The design, the typography is breathing. First thing that comes to my mind, why don’t we have such a fresh and modern looking newspaper in Germany? With a supplement like this? Hmm …
Comment on February 27, 2010 by Mark says:
First Sunday newspaper I’ve read cover to cover in years, so it must be doing something right
Comment on February 27, 2010 by jeremy says:
Interesting point – I’ve ‘read’ the Oberver for years now but with the previous design there was lots I ignored. This design/edit package is *very* readable.
Comment on February 28, 2010 by Rebecca says:
yo’ll get bored of it in a month. all observer redesigns are the same.
initial shock and awe at purchase of new typeface plus modest rearrangement of furniture (and ‘new’ inclusion of groundbreaking editorial elements, usually this special ‘new’ feature is a 10 of the best page).
one calender month later, a nagging sense of duty to buy it, even though it just sits there looking needy at you all week.
two calender months later. go back to buying Sunday Times, because, its just away better.
i just decided to skip stages one and two this time. Glanced through it and was deeply unmoved. but you design guys are such suckers…
Comment on March 1, 2010 by andy smith says:
“Sunday Times… its just away better.” Please explain why.
Comment on March 1, 2010 by Rebecca says:
better stories, better pictures.
simple really. the design is toss, but only fucking idiots by a paper for the design
Comment on March 2, 2010 by andy smith says:
“…only fucking idiots by [sic] a paper for the design”. What a great slogan for the SND annual!!
Comment on March 14, 2010 by Janet Walder says:
Observer has change over last few years into being just too upper middle class for likes of us. That combined with tiny poor quality print in magazine means a long overdue change.Jan Walder
Comment on March 23, 2010 by ann hinds says:
the print is tiny and so are many of the
photographs. visually the mag. is very unappealing. Go back to the drawing board please–study Sunday Times and Mail on Sunday. And bring back the horoscopes–much more entertaining than the present
back page of boring photos by someone I’ve never heard of.
PS. love the review.
Comment on March 27, 2010 by iris pankhurst says:
I was a loyal longtime reader of the Observer. It had the best social and political analysis of any Sunday newspaper. Sadly this is no longer the case. It is now superficial, concentrating on cheap fashion articles and longer (not particularly good) pieces obviously bought in.
The old Observer spirit has gone and I am now searching for another Sunday newspaper,
Comment on March 31, 2010 by Alan Formby-Jackson » Blog Archive » The Observer (UK) redesign says:
[...] More comment and pictures over at the MAGCULTURE blog here. [...]
Comment on April 12, 2010 by Miguel Buckenmeyer says:
It bears some resemblance to the Guardian, but I agree with a previous comment, that is a good thing.
I like that they cleaned up the type palette, using only one sans versus two originally and a “matching” slab serif: Prelo Sans and Prelo Slab (http://dstype.com/index.php?id=26) by Dino de Santos.
I also really liked that they kept the signature font Mercury, providing some continuity for regular readers.
Kudos.
Comment on April 25, 2010 by New box model army « dogwonder.co.uk says:
[...] All of this is a very long way of saying I am looking at new techniques and methods to delivery richer designs in html and css. Anyway back to the beginning of the article, the Observer Magazine redux and how much I liked it and how it could be done with more advanced techniques. So I thought I would give it a try, by using typekit to deliver the fonts and CSS to get the rounded corners. First the original (examples from The Magculture blog) [...]
