Newsdesigner.com | World's Best-Designed Newspapers:<br>Hartford Courant

World's Best-Designed Newspapers:
Hartford Courant

1:40 AM, March 8, 2005

The Hartford Courant is a 250,000-circulation daily in Hartford, Conn. It was also named one of the world's best in 2000. The SND judges this year said:

This paper is a standout in the American newspaper market. The Hartford Courant distinguishes itself with an enduring elegance in design and typography. Though conservative in their approach, designers engage readers with the bold use of visuals. The contrast between their quiet, understated style and the gutsy photography and illustrations create a tension that captures the attention of readers.

More pages after the jump, and other World's Best-Designed Newspapers entries here.

(Thanks to Suzette Moyer, Melanie Shaffer and Jim Kuykendall for the pages)

Comments

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Damn... Great stuff!

Posted by: Charles Apple at March 8, 2005 4:10 AM

Very elegant. I love the use of typography in the Courant. When you have strong visuals, everything just falls into place. Really, really good job.

Posted by: Douglas E. Jessmer at March 8, 2005 9:07 AM

Oh, I absolutely love these pages. I agree, the visuals is what is the center to this, that and an amazingly excellent sense of good typography.

Posted by: Megan Lavey at March 8, 2005 9:16 AM

Simplicity speaks volumes. Again. Simplicity speaks volumes. Photography, documentary or conceptual, takes all. Illustrations are done full-throtle, meaning they become part of the page, not just someting on it. Is has a magazine feel in a newspaper format. Perhaps they've struck gold ...

Posted by: Kristin Lenz at March 8, 2005 10:54 AM

What a wonderful paper. It gives me goosepimples just looking at it. I'm actually surprised that the judges called it "conservative." I think that the the use strong use of white space and the bold photography and great use of color is some of the most contemporary newspaper design I've seen. True, it's not all san-serif and multicolored, but I hardly think filling up the page with visual clutter is a "modern" idea. If this is conservative design then count me in!

Posted by: christopher edwards at March 8, 2005 7:14 PM

It may be pretty, but I would contend that this front page won't do much for readers. The actual amount of information on this cover, of actual "news," is very slim, maybe 2-3 paragraphs worth. Readers are now used to having lots of information at their fingertips. As one of the (young) staffers at the paper I work at put it: "I want more STUFF on the page." He meant more stories, tidbits, photos, entry points, charts ... more. Young readers (the people we need to be wooing lest we disappear) want lots of things to look at and choose from.
Yes, the Courant is gorgeous, but does it succeed at giving people what they want?

Posted by: Prospero at March 18, 2005 10:35 PM

Note: My comments were about the day-after-the-election cover.

Posted by: Prospero at March 18, 2005 10:40 PM

"When you have strong visuals, everything just falls into place."

couldnt of said it better

Posted by: Jesse Thomas at March 31, 2005 1:00 PM

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