Always a struggling paper, Svenska Dagbladet faced closing before radically transforming their paper from a wide, wide broadsheet into a tabloid. The result of all of this change? Growing readership, particularly in a targeted area of “New Urban Readers,” typically, they are between 30-45.
SESSION: A Near-Death Experience: Svenska Dagbladet
PRESENTER: Anna Thurfjell, Design Director
QUOTE: “The thing we are most proud of is the fact that we were able to change the identity of our paper.”
INTERESTING NOTE: There is a holistic approach to designing the Sunday version of SD. While distinct from each other, the sections are designed to work in concert, complimenting each other. While many publications take a holistic view of a section, few are able to do that with the entire newspaper. SD’s redesign changes left the typography largely in place, but changed the structure of how news was designed from top to bottom.
AN IDEA TO STEAL: Grids. Grids. Grids. SD is built on a 10-column grid which provides the right balance between structure and flexibility. Pages do not deviate from the grid, but they have enough options on a 10-column version to avoid being monotonous.
Three questions with Anna Thurfjell …
What has changed the most in the last 3 years?
What’s changed the most was establishing a self-confidence. It used to be “how do we survive” and now it’s about “how do we get better”
How integrated are the web and print parts of your newsroom?
We have started the integration. Right now, we are doing it live (from the start of September). It’s early to say if it’s going to be working. They are sitting together and there are new multimedia reporters. The way we are trying to do this is to have an editor over the news editors — his perspective is above all of them. His perspective is like an eagle’s.
What would you tell someone faced with the task of re-making the identity of their newspaper?
The main thing is to define the target of who your reader is. Then you would know what you need to declare. Usually you know what kind of paper you are too well. Usually you don’t know your reader.
The integration is already at place at SvD. The new design of the website http://www.svd.se was made in cooperation between Anna Thurfjell and the webdesigner for the website. What happens in September is a more structured integration with a new editorial organisation that better supports a well integrated newsroom.