HERALD NEWS, Passaic, N.J.

What do you do with a failing newspaper to appeal to a growing minority and immigrant community without losing the diminishing existing readership?

You blow it up and start over.

A newspaper with a long tradition and a once high circulation, the Herald News in Paterson, N.J., found itself unchanged amidst a rapidly shifting demographic. After decades of a stable population of working and middle class (and mostly caucasian) readers, the towns covered by the Herald News had become home to dozens of ethnic groups from all over the globe. Many were first and second generation immigrants who were struggling to assimilate into the social and civic life of their new neighborhoods. And to them, the pages of the Herald News were a closed book full of jargon and insider information that provided nothing for them.

We coordinated our redesign with an editorial staff already in the midst of change and helped them focus on their audience and how best to serve them. In search of common elements that would unite and best help this new audience, we prepared dozens of prototypes from radical to more traditional. Focus groups helped lead us away from the most radical of the designs, but reaffirmed our belief that we needed a bold and bright look reliant on the strength of photography (a common language among so many tongues), concise and informative writing and excellent navigation.

The centerpiece of the redesign was a strong and colorful nameplate that was a marked departure from its predecessor, a thin, almost anemic flag. This new look grabbed the reader as they walked by and held their attention just long enough so the new content changes could sink in. With the help of a radical idea in the nameplate - daily change faces of everyday readers - residents, of all backgrounds, began to see themselves in this newspaper.

The redesign, launched in July 2002 experienced a 16% circulation increase and very positive reader response. Tweaks to the redesign and training sessions in design and photography have been ongoing since the launch.

Bill Ostendorf served as project leader and trainer. In addition to the lead designer, the design team was aided by Kristen Powell, Kevin Dilley, Carolyn Flynn, Jennifer Boucher and another designer.

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