The Gulf Times is looking good today. Here are the main points of the redesign.
The paper has shrunk slightly, to a size known as berliner, which is popular in Europe. That might be a choice dictated by the new printing press, but it's a welcome change nonetheless, as it's easier to hold.
The front page has a new masthead. There's a more modern feel to the layout, with only a single story, rather than the six or seven that previously crowded onto the page.
I guess they've switched from Quark to InDesign for the new design, and the H&Js have vastly improved. Previously, the text was very gappy, especially on narrow measures. That's been fixed.
The fonts have changed. Helvetica has gone. It's been replaced by one of those new sans faces. Like Gotham, but not. Anyone know the precise name? The same goes for the serif font. I guess the previous font was Times New Roman, but it's now some transitional face like Apollo or Cheltenham. The capital-Q has a swash, which is a problem if you're going to use it regularly, especially on drop-caps.
Thankfully, the main paper now comes as a complete piece, not a construct-it-yourself two-parter. There's a new business/sports section, and a tabloid feature section, with TV listings. Since The Peninsula ditched its tabloid this weekend, Gulf Times wins by default on features. The lack of detailed TV listings are a pet peeve of mine, and they've not listed some of the most popular channels like BBC Prime.
There's still a jarring mix of coated and uncoated paper stock, and this affects the colour repro. Having said that, the print quality is good throughout, and my copy showed none of the drying problems that seem to plague local printing.
Compared to The Peninsula, there are eight pages more of news. The classified section is well integrated between the business and sport.
Judging a paper on the first issue of a new design will always be problematic. There will be some improvements over the next few weeks, as in-house designers tweak details, but there is also the danger of slippage. The redesign has been bought in from an external consultancy, and it will be interesting to see whether the paper looks as pretty in a couple of weeks once Richard Addis and his team have left Doha.
The Gulf Times is looking good today. Here are the main points of the redesign.
The paper has shrunk slightly, to a size known as berliner, which is popular in Europe. That might be a choice dictated by the new printing press, but it's a welcome change nonetheless, as it's easier to hold.
The front page has a new masthead. There's a more modern feel to the layout, with only a single story, rather than the six or seven that previously crowded onto the page.
I guess they've switched from Quark to InDesign for the new design, and the H&Js have vastly improved. Previously, the text was very gappy, especially on narrow measures. That's been fixed.
The fonts have changed. Helvetica has gone. It's been replaced by one of those new sans faces. Like Gotham, but not. Anyone know the precise name? The same goes for the serif font. I guess the previous font was Times New Roman, but it's now some transitional face like Apollo or Cheltenham. The capital-Q has a swash, which is a problem if you're going to use it regularly, especially on drop-caps.
Thankfully, the main paper now comes as a complete piece, not a construct-it-yourself two-parter. There's a new business/sports section, and a tabloid feature section, with TV listings. Since The Peninsula ditched its tabloid this weekend, Gulf Times wins by default on features. The lack of detailed TV listings are a pet peeve of mine, and they've not listed some of the most popular channels like BBC Prime.
There's still a jarring mix of coated and uncoated paper stock, and this affects the colour repro. Having said that, the print quality is good throughout, and my copy showed none of the drying problems that seem to plague local printing.
Compared to The Peninsula, there are eight pages more of news. The classified section is well integrated between the business and sport.
Judging a paper on the first issue of a new design will always be problematic. There will be some improvements over the next few weeks, as in-house designers tweak details, but there is also the danger of slippage. The redesign has been bought in from an external consultancy, and it will be interesting to see whether the paper looks as pretty in a couple of weeks once Richard Addis and his team have left Doha.