THE RECORD, Hackensack, N.J.

The owners of the Record in Hackensack, N.J., wanted a subtle refinement to their 165,000-circulation flagship newspaper. The goal was to upgrade the look without disrupting the paper’s strong readership.

We focused on strengthening two key branding elements - the nameplate and the color. Jim Parkinson redrew the flag, creating a similar but simplified and stronger identity. The signature color green was deepened to reinforce the paper’s identity. In addition, significant but subtle changes were made in the typography and architecture of the newspaper. The rollout for this redesign was in phases from August 2001 through February 2002 and was a success in achieving the original goal.

This success has lead to a long-term contract with the Borg family and North Jersey Media group that includes training, editorial and classified redesigns, as well as new product development.

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

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