halston media newspapers
Halston Media is the publisher of four hyper-local weekly newspapers. The publication templates were made by different designers over the lifetime of the business, and therefore lacked total consistency between them. When a migration to a new print vendor called for modifying the templates to fit the new print specs, I felt it was the perfect time for a design overhaul as well.
The goal was to increase consistency across all four papers so it was clear they were Halston Media publications, while still maintaining each newspaper’s individual personality. The main copy utilizes the same typefaces in each paper, while smaller details such as the indexes and folios are set in each paper’s accent typefaces. The page flags were trimmed down to the bare minimum elements, and the gradients that were originally present within them were replaced with a solid color to give them a more modern look. Special sections were marked with icons in each paper’s secondary accent color to separate them from the weekly regulars.
My day-to-day responsibilities at Halston Media involved designing and overseeing the production of all four newspapers and any pull-out special sections run in them, as well as creating advertisements for all our clients. The 2015 Mahopac Street Fair special section cover won 2nd place in the 2016 New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest's "Best Special Section Cover" category.
