The first design makeover of Indian newspapers happened in the 1980s. A large part of this was the result of better printing technology which made colour printing possible. Added to this were the design changes brought about by desktop publishing.
But the biggest credit goes to Design Editors who breathed new life into publications, and made reading such a pleasure.
There was considerable scepticism when art school pass outs were hired to give print publications a new look and feel. India Today, which shifted to desktop publishing in the middle eighties, was the first print publication to hire a design editor. It was followed by The Times of India. Soon other newspapers and magazines started hiring design editors.
There was an explosion of ideas, of experimentation. The newspapers and magazines, which looked fairly dull and dowdy till the 1970s, were transformed.
Clearly, design was not an esoteric concept for design editors. They spun a web of magic around the printed word.
One page that was, however, left untouched was the Edit page. Editors considered this page sacrosanct, and were not willing to open it to design change.
It was only when the century changed that editors loosened their grip. The design editors were given the opportunity to let their ideas flow into this hallowed portal.
Today, almost all newspapers have redesigned their edit pages. They run colour photographs, illustrations and even cartoon strips on the editorial page. No real estate, including the edits, is sacred. Even there, well-designed illustrations have made an entry.
There is no doubt that design has breathed new life into the edit pages. Earlier, they were so difficult to read. You only encountered columns of grey text. Even the editors and newspaper marketers acknowledged that the most difficult page to read in a newspaper is the edit page.
But today they are a visual delight. An important point to note here is that there has been no dilution in the seriousness of edit pages. They are still pillars of solidity and seriousness.
The makeover of Wren & Martin’s Grammar Book
The power of Newspapers and magazines were not the only ones that underwent the design revolution. Book publishing too felt this welcome change.
A case in point is P.C. Wren and H. Martin’s classic tome on grammar titled The High School English Grammar & Composition. Several generations of Indians have grown up learning English grammar from this book.
One does not know when this book’s first edition was published. But over 125 editions of the book have been printed so far.
Millions of Indian students have lugged the book to the school every morning. But it is unlikely that even a small number found it uplifting.
The authors, of course, could not be blamed for this. There can be nothing more boring than learning grammar. And if your teacher happened to be a drone then your suffering only intensified.
There was one more reason that students found Wren & Martin – as it is popularly referred to – oppressive. It was the layout.
Imagine ploughing through 400 pages of dull, drab and boring text day after day, week after week, year after year. Like me, I am sure millions of others hated the way the lessons were presented.
So, it was a pleasant surprise to find a multicolour Illustrated Edition of Wren & Martin in a book store. I could not stop myself from checking if anything had changed.
Yes, indeed.
The book was the same. The text was the same. But the imaginative illustrations and layout wanted you to read the book.
You realised the power of design on turning the pages of the redesigned edition.
The Old Layout
The 1986 edition without illustrations
The new illustrated layout
The 2006 edition with illustrations
The colourful illustrations and smart layouts have breathed life into every page. The book is no longer a tiresome, endless drag.
Design has improved readability, and also made learning easier.
This article, which was first published on www.easymedia.in on October 18, 2014, has been updated.
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