The challenge

The Sunday News was a tired newspaper that had been declining in readership and reputation. As the country’s oldest, national Sunday Newspaper, it was stuck in an image of old-style, cheap, working-class sensationalism. The audience had moved on, leaving the newspaper in desperate straits. de Luxe & Associates was called in for a make-or-break redesign, which meant throwing out most of the old features of the newspaper, but retaining a strong voice for the community.

The solution

We approached the project by getting a handle on exactly how we could provide an contemporary attitude that matched the potential audience. We crafted a powerful, colourful typographic approach to the design, using a contemporary drawing of a classic ‘tabloid’ typeface (Benton Sans family) as the backbone of the design. From there we built a consistent, modular visual language that would allow the tiny staff to assemble the paper with as little fuss as possible. The designs maximise the ‘big’ and bringing a clear sense of organisation to the overall layout. We’ve designed an approachable, feisty contemporary Sunday Newspaper, giving readers (and the staff) a strong sense of value and a reason to buy on a Sunday.