Handelsblatt, a German political and financial daily, introduced a Garcia Media redesign Nov. 21 (new pages on the right), most notably converting the finance section, Finanzeitung, to compact format.

From the press release:

So today Handelsblatt also makes the switch to compact for one of its most important sections. But, overall, readers will find the same quality of financial journalism that has made Handelsblatt the serious, credible newspaper it is. In addition, the new changes are aimed at:

1. Catering to "readers in a hurry," who want the substance of good financial journalism, but served in an easier to assimilate package.

2. Offering distinctive navigational features on page one to guide readers who wish to turn immediately to a specific story, or to the online edition.

It is a winning situation, and it is my belief that traditional readers will find themselves navigating their Handelsblatt quicker. At the same time, new readers will sample the new Handelsblatt and like enough to make it their own newspaper.

Project designers for Garcia Media on this project were Jan Kny and Margit Meister, of the Garcia Media Europe office in Hamburg. Art director for Handelsblatt is Brian O'Connor.

Typographically, they got rid of Corporate and Poynter Old Style Display in favor of Baskerville, Benton Sans, Miller Headline, Retina and Rotis Sans. They kept Trade Gothic, Poynter Old Style Text and Helvetica.

A new Handelsblatt: quicker to read, easier to navigate Premieres Monday, November 21

As the Handelsblatt makes changes in its design, and introduces a new section as a compact, it is the latest in a series of evolutionary change the newspaper's editors have followed, each time enhancing the reading process, making the content easier to find, and making sure that content is upgraded to fit the fast changing needs of readers who live in the culture of the "always on" - connected through technology to an overabundance of news information outlets.

I have had the privilege of accompanying Handelsblatt in these changes for more than 12 years, and each time I gained a new insight into how financial newspapers keep up with change as they cater to the smartest and best informed newspaper readers anywhere.

But perhaps one of the most significant changes in this new Handelsblatt, in addition to improvements in the navigational devices used to send readers to both other pages of the newspaper, as well as to the online edition, is the transforming of Finanzeitung to a compact format. I have had the privilege of assisting The Wall Street Journal in the process of switching its international editions to the compact format, premiering last October 17.

Today, Handelsblatt joins other major dailies around the world that have opted for this format which is easier to navigate and affords greater adaptability to the specific needs of today's readers, most of whom are greatly influenced by the technology around them, and who are, by all accounts, impatient but seeking content with depth and substance.

Things tend to simplify themselves. As life in the big cities turns more chaotic, technology becomes more accessible with wireless, fast communication available to larger masses of the population. With the exception of passenger jets, everything gets smaller, from our cameras to computers, and even our newspapers.

For the printed media, this translates into smaller formats, more reader-friendly for users who seek simpler storytelling, quicker messages, and who seem to prefer, as in everything else, the smaller packages.

So today Handelsblatt also makes the switch to compact for one of its most important sections. But, overall, readers will find the same quality of financial journalism that has made Handelsblatt the serious, credible newspaper it is. In addition, the new changes are aimed at:

1. Catering to "readers in a hurry," who want the substance of good financial journalism, but served in an easier to assimilate package.

2. Offering distinctive navigational features on page one to guide readers who wish to turn immediately to a specific story, or to the online edition.

It is a winning situation, and it is my belief that traditional readers will find themselves navigating their Handelsblatt quicker. At the same time, new readers will sample the new Handelsblatt and like enough to make it their own newspaper.

Project designers for Garcia Media on this project were Jan Kny and Margit Meister, of the Garcia Media Europe office in Hamburg. Art director for Handelsblatt is Brian O'Connor.