Bizdesigner

See how you're doing

Here's a blog that critiques media charts and graphs.

http://junkcharts.typepad.com/

Chartistry

Contributing bizdesigner poster Mary Yanni writes,

Here's a link to an online column Portfolio is doing called Chartistry (it's a blog of economy charticles):

Chartistry

Here's a Q& A SND did with the columnist

Coming soon: We'll critique this new business magazine.

WSJ circ up since redesign

The Wall Street Journal said Monday that its circulation has increased since it launched its redesigned paper in January. In comparison, other newspapers saw drops in the first three months of the year.

Mario Garcia is the force behind that redesign.

What older businesss designers tell younger business designers

Ha ha

If the Wall Street Journal was taken over by Murdoch from http://www.gothamist.com/2007/05/01/murdoch_bids_fo.php

When Ctrl-Alt-S won't do

This smarts: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/business/media/01mag.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

From the NY Times:

Business 2.0, the technology-aware magazine published by Time Inc., periodically reminds readers of the importance of backing up computer files. A 2003 article likened backups to flossing — everyone knows it’s important, but few devote enough thought or energy to it.

Last week, Business 2.0 got caught forgetting to floss.

On the night of Monday, April 23, the magazine’s editorial system crashed, wiping out all the work that had been done for its June issue. The backup server failed to back up.

Good thing the magazine, based in San Francisco, is a monthly. “If it had happened a week later, we would have been in trouble,” said Josh Quittner, the editor.

But all is well, he said, and the magazine will go to press on schedule next week. The recovery was made much easier, paradoxically, by a bane of modern business, litigation — or at least the fear of it.

“The text had all been copy-edited and sent off to the lawyers, so it had been saved as e-mail,” Mr. Quittner said.

But the artwork, the page layouts, were truly gone, he said, and “our heroic art department had to rebuild all the art assets.” He said they had caught up by Thursday.

Go ART DEPARTMENT! Wooo! You got mentioned in the NY Times!

Consumer Reports to Redesign

From Consumer Reports, our favorite testing magazine, comes news of an upcoming redesign. They will try to lure in the chicas. From The New York Times:

The redesign will also be partly aimed at attracting more women — about 70 percent of its 4.3 million readers are male, Editor Kimberly Kleman said. The magazine will also try to extend its coverage beyond consumer product reviews and delve into consumer issues like health care, she said.

The previous editor in chief, Margot Slade, left in October, and the position has been vacant since.

My only question: Will they keep the O in consumer? Cuz it's all about the O.

Current look:

A new look in Lauderdale

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel launched a redesigned biz section Monday. From business design director Rebekah Monson:

"We're trying some new stuff throughout the paper: More color blocking for emphasis and separation. Pushing the use of a 10-column grid. Cleaner, more modern type.

The goal of the cover centerpiece is to have art and words be more integrated, and to be bigger and to be more eye-catching than on a regular news day. We're trying this for two reasons: Our readers are used to this section as a tab with a magazine cover and Your Business is full of consumer news, which the paper as a whole is pushing hard right now.

The Monday Morning section at the bottom will be more dynamic when we don't have to cram in the reader's note and as editors and writers adapt to the use of short-form here. We'll be pushing for quotes from the week, interesting numbers breakouts, briefs, and refer material there in coming weeks.

It's all evolving still, but this is how we launched."

OLD:

NEW:

Mary Yanni's Favorite Things

Mary Yanni of the Star Ledger, woefully, like me, a former Business designer, sends along some of her favorite resources.

Download BIZ_RESOURCES.doc

It's just a ride, it's just a ride

Now THAT'S an interactive graphic. But where are the loop-de-loops?!?

http://www.speculativebubble.com/videos/real-estate-roller-coaster.php

(Thanks Mary!)