When I think of a project that screams for cooperation between copy and design it’s a newsletter.
Newsletters are a good way to provide something of perceived value to the donor that doesn’t break the bank.
And it’s a good way to forge a relationship with the donor by promoting your cause.
Digital or in the mail, a newsletter can take the reader where you want them to go and show progress and need.
Save the Chimps just updated its brand and with that update I was afforded the opportunity to take their newsletter in a different direction.
Previous Design
Updated Design
The previous design was focused on putting as much content as possible into two sides of an 8 ½ x 11-inch sheet.
The design had served them well but I suggested using a larger point size for the type and bigger images more appropriate for older eyes.
This would mean that the writer would need to be even more concise with his copy.
I provided him with word counts for each article space and he came very close to hitting the mark even after client edits.
Word count is crucial when writing for a newsletter. It can be difficult for the writer to pare down all that great information he has acquired from subject interviews to fit a limited space.
Clients may insist that writers provide lots of copy for a newsletter but often do not consider that there should be more than just text.
Having to shoehorn in images and graphics makes the reader’s experience less than ideal.
Lucky for me I have a long relationship with this writer and I am able to share my ideas with him before he makes his first key stroke on the copy.
He makes design suggestions and sometimes I make copy suggestions for space but most of the time we respect each other’s craft and make stuff happen.
The best thing for a designer when working on a newsletter is to have the ability to go back to the writer and ask for copy edits for space.
Writers are brilliant at cutting just enough copy to make it fit.
For the redesign of Chimp News, I opted to keep a large banner on page one and keep the “cover chimp” featured on page two.
Previous Newsletter Banner
Updated Newsletter Banner
I used an oversized silhouetted image to draw the reader in to the first article.
Updated Chimp News design
The previous design had no call-to-action but the client agreed to let me add it to both front and back pages along with social media badges.
Get Playful
Now if you’ve read any of my previous articles or listened to me ramble on at Bridge or a Lunch and Learn, you will know I always like to let the reader “in on the joke”—make them feel like they are an insider.
I added a couple of whimsical items to this newsletter that may bring a smile to the reader.
The “over please” is Pumpkin (a chimp I sponsor —I HAD to find a way to use him in this issue) on his back in a playful pose with the direction “Pumpkin says to turn over.”
I also added bananas to the Save the Dates section.
I’m sure some of you on my wavelength wonder why I didn’t use dates. I did consider it, but I really needed a color pop for that box and dates wouldn’t have done that as well as bananas.
You will end up with a better product if you let your writer and designer talk.
Have an editorial meeting prior to copy and design kick off. The designer can be researching/obtaining images while the copy is being written.
Another thing that helps is to build the newsletter with first draft copy. That way the designer and writer can solve space issues before the client sees it.
It’s not an ideal way to work for a lot of packages but I find it to be a much smoother process for the client when designing a newsletter.
Production changes
The previous newsletter had a bleed (color running off the edge of the page.) I thought we really didn’t need that for the new design and could save a little money by not having to print on an oversize sheet of paper to be able to bleed off the page.
The quantity (for now) is not overly large, so we were able to move the newsletter to a digital press allowing us more time flexibility.
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