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Visual ConceitThe Secret Ingredient of the Secret Ingredient
Every designer knows that the classic recipe is good headline and good art. But we all know that the newsroom is not a perfect world. Most often we get a good story with a crappy art. And this has become our existential wound, yet this does not mean that as creative we'll cease to engage our readers. We’re told that putting the readers first would be the key to our survival.
But designers must learn to develop visualiza-tion techniques to captivate and engage its readers.
This is not anymore a question of designing a good page — but designers must produce pages that constantly grab readers by the balls, tickle their imagination, and perhaps propel them to utter the magic word: “Wow!”
So how do we create a page that passes the wow-o-meter? And what is the secret to a “wow” page?
Well, the key ingredient is simply to learn the concept of visual conceit.
CONCEPTUAL CONCEITThe concept or idea as controlling element
STYLISTIC CONCEITThe visual style as controlling element
by Adonis Durado, Design Director, Times of Oman // SND STL Conference, 2011
VISUAL CONCEIT / 1 of 7 /
W H A T C O N S T I T U T E S A G O O D P A G E ?
T Y P E S O F V I S U A L C O N C E I T
D E F I N I T I O NVisual conceit is a device, a method of dressing up, enriching, adding layer or dimension to a story. It’s a visual treatment other than employing metaphor within the context of the story and the parameter of printed form.
C O N C E I T E D A P P R O A C H E S : T H E M A N Y W AY S T O S K I N T H E C A T
VISUAL CONCEIT / 2 of 7 /
1 Be funny
or die. Use humor
and wit.
2Don’t
be flat. Go beyond two
dimensions... Try tactile.
VISUAL CONCEIT / 3 of 7 /
3Art
attackExplore various
visual stylesBe ecclectic.
4Textual attack.
Headline treatment in shock and awe.
6 Challenge
and provoke. Create
defamiliarization and deconstruct existing notion.Be interactive.
VISUAL CONCEIT / 4 of 7 /
CONCEIT
Is it possibleto have the
headline size similar to its
body text?
INTERACTIVE
5Create
narrative. Be it pictorial or
textual.
8Contextualize
or texturize. Be literal
or be ambiguous.Create an
architectonic quality.
7Nothing
succeeds like excess.
Exploit design elements. Use of
dominant art or a minimalist layout.
VISUAL CONCEIT / 5 of 7 /
VISUAL CONCEIT / 6 of 7 /
10See micro,
think macro. A view from
a grain of sand.
Creating motif to tie multiple pages or whole section
Creating motif to tie multiple pages or whole section
9Play on reader’s
perception. Make reading an
experience.
HEADLINE
How to spot a spinning
blackhole
C R A C K I N G T H E N U T S : D E S I G N T I P S A N D C A R D I N A L R U L E S
Execution is critical. Concept alone is not enough... style alone is not enough
Design is problem solving. Design with panache and with great respect to content
Exercise restraint. The beauty of simplicity. The image at the right is more simplier and cleaner.
Headline is the key. Consider rewriting to connect with your art
Don’t be afraid to experiment. I created two design studies below and opted for the first concept because it's the one I haven't tried before.
Look for inspiration from other works. Build a "flagging wall" where you can post concepts and visual styles.
VISUAL CONCEIT / 7 of 7 /