Going Deeper: Newspaper Design vs. Magazine Design

Newspapers and magazines. Both convey information through text, photos, graphics and illustrations. Both reach millions of people every day. Both have traditionally been a prime example of print media. The similarities are high, but their differences outnumber these greatly.

Newspapers target a large population, while magazines are more specialized. Magazines are more editorial (entertainment based), where newspapers are largely factual (information based). Newspapers often have a much quicker turnaround time, coming out daily, bi-weekly or weekly, while many magazines are monthly or even quarterly. Magazines are typically printed on a heavier, glossier paper and newspapers are printed on a thiner, porous paper. For these reasons, as well as many others that I didn't list, newspaper and magazine design differs greatly.

The factual, 'hard news' format of newspapers is, perhaps, the most significant reason for the differentiation in design. The strict, column-based grid structure of newspapers projects credibility. This comes from years and years of similar newspaper design. We as consumers, tend to give more trust to the things that we are familiar with. A reverse example of this, is the adoption of this type of layout by gossip tabloids. By printing on newsprint and adhering to a newspaper-like column structure, they hope to appear credible and factual. Newspapers are also dictated by a number of other factors, including a quick turnover time, lower quality paper, whether or not they will have color, etc.

Because magazines are typically more entertainment based, they are able to play with design more as they are not bound by the constraints of being the watch dog informant. They are also almost always full color and printed on a heavier, glossy paper stock, allowing for more detailed, intricate designs.

As of recent though, newspapers have begun to morph and change slightly in order to compete as a print product living in a digital age and are becoming more design heavy and magazine-like as to attract readers and get them their information in an easily manageable and relatively entertaining way.