Alan Formby-Jackson

Gavin Munro from Palmer Watson has sent me some pages of the Manchester Evening News which they helped redesign as reported earlier.

He says:

Part of the Guardian Media Group, the Manchester Evening News is Britain’s biggest multi-edition regional evening newspaper with a circulation of over 180,000. It outsells all other news media in the area and can claim 160,000 readers that do not purchase another newspaper.

The Manchester Evening News, founded in 1868, is an widely respected newspaper that has become an institution in the city for its traditional strengths for reporting local and national news, while not afraid to take on the local establishment campaigning against injustices or bringing social problems into the readers spectrum.

We were commissioned to ensure the redesign reflected the newspapers dominant position, complement the forward-looking metropolitian city that Manchester has become over the last 10 years and take full advantage of the full-colour press capabilities on the new £44m plant.

Type - Body Text:: EudaldNews Roman by Mário Feliciano in Lisbon, Portugal.

Main Headlines: Various members of the Olisipone family, also from Mário Feliciano.

Opinion Headlines: Chronicle by Jonathan Hoefler at Hoefler & Frere-Jones in New York, United States.

Palmer Watson began working in the spring and were involved in the process up to the launch in July this year. After initial design prototypes we conceived a complete overhaul of the design using a colour-coded technique to differentiate the news, business and sport sections while providing a more contemporary platform for the regular features that the readers enjoy.

Developing the new structure of the design which used a 15 or 18 column grid, this increased the news story count and put greater emphasis of photograph selection. Two dummies were produced with the M.E.N. launch team – Maria McGeoghan, the Deputy Editor of the Manchester Evening News, who co-ordinated the project alongside staff members Peter Devine, design editor; Paul Smith Assistant Chief Sub-Editor and Justin Connolly, Sub-Editor.

Maria McGeoghan said: “We decided to work with Palmer Watson rather than do the whole project in-house because we wanted someone to look at our paper with completely fresh eyes. Although we have changed the paper quite considerably it has been done in a subtle way that does not alienate our loyal readers. In redesign terms I think this is the hardest trick of all to pull off.”

The MEN’s first edition is now printed overnight and is on sale outside the city centre at breakfast time. The same paper is then given away for free, mid-morning, in the city centre. A second paid-for only edition is produced mid-morning, and a third edition is on sale at lunchtime and then given away in the city centre in the early afternoon.

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