Yesterday I received my first narrow web Sunday New York Times, and I
wasn't shocked at all. In fact, I was quite pleased. The new size is
decidedly much easier to handle and thus to read.
As far as design goes, little has changed but much has been added in
terms of nuances. For instance, all week I was trying to determine why
the front page looked, well, cleaner. One small yet big answer: the hairline rules
are thinner. What may be indistinguishable to some, actually makes a
world of difference to all eyes.
God is in the details after all, thanks to Tom Bodkin.
On the whole the Times is still the Times, but Sunday's paper
underscores the idea the paper has changed with the times. What was
feared by some as world altering, is instead, thanks to intelligent
design, a successful transition
from one familiar format to another modern one.
I liken it to the new Times building. All the people and departments
are more or less the same, but the new offices are brighter and
cleaner, more comodious. In the new offices, the old is not
simply just made to fit into the new surround, but has an integrity all
its own. Likewise the paper's type and image fit perfectly into the new
size, just as it was designed to be.
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