Redesign of The Valley Sentinel Newspaper

[Shawn Alain]

Today we launched the Re-Design of our little paper up in Valemount, BC.
One of the first things we did was that we no longer have a 1/4 fold. This allows us to have more real estate on the store shelf and lets the reader to see more of what’s in today’s issue.
Our readers told us they want a paper that’s easier to read so we have changed our font, increased the font size slightly for our aging readers and added more breathing room in between story breaks.
Our classified section has undergone an extensive makeover. Again we have increased and changed the font. We have also made large category headers helping you to quickly find what you’re looking for. The business directory has been moved into the classifieds to take advantage of the classifieds high readership to give more visibility to our business directory advertisers.

We moved the business directory ito the classifieds. This is because it is now on a 7 column page instead of 6 thus getting us more money for the space and also because classifieds have readership and this page is more of a benefit to our advertisers rather than having a page of their own.

[Billy Simkins]

A couple quick thoughts. I think the paper is a step in the right direction. The classified section looks like the biggest improvement. As far as the cover. I would avoid outlining text if you can. It really doesn't add much. I would have passed on the drop shadow on your logo and I would have downsized it about 25%. It's very bold and demands attention. Some white space around it would have helped greatly. I would also increase the white space on your news stories a little, especially at the top where they look like they are almost touching. Everything else looks better. Good luck.

Billy Simkins
The Bakersfield Californian

[Shawn Alain]

Thanks for the feedback. One suggestion I have to disagree with is the drop shadow behind our logo. We used to have no drop shadow but when we added it, it really brought the logo out. I'll decrease the size of the shadow a little and see how that looks. I'll give the rest of the suggestions a try.
I'm a fan of your paper, we'll I've never actually read a copy of it, just from what I've seen at newseum.org/frontpages, brasstacksdesign.com and on this site. It's one of the papers I studied when doing this redesign. Especially some of the changes you've implemented in your office such as fostering a culture of collaboration in your newsroom instead an assembly line.