Ich bin eine Berliner
241 wordsThis morning found me avoiding envious glances from the Metro reading proletariat, as I read my new-shape “Berliner” Guardian.
I took the opportunity to compare the shape to that of the Metro, which I assume is a standard tabloid size. The Guardian is slightly wider than the Metro, and significantly taller. I found it convenient for the bus, although force of habit made me fold it in half horizontally, and I still had a little trouble turning to page 2/3 in the wind.
The colour photographs look very bright and clear, as promised. I found my fingertips somewhat inky at the end of the journey. The front page layout is somewhat cluttered, with no fewer than seven boxes and a picture, each referencing a continuation elsewhere in the paper.
The G2 section is half the size of the main section — slightly larger than A4 — and feels distractingly tiny. I’m sure I’ll get used to it.
I remember when the Guardian introduced its old new look in the 80s, with the italic “The” and the bold sanserif “Guardian”. It seemed quite daring at the time, and I thought it continued to look very contemporary. It noticed the Times had copied the idea in places. The new look seems somewhat conservative and staid by comparison. The newly designed font set used throughout is nice and easy to read though. One front page item, the editor’s “Column Five”, starts with a particulary ugly drop-capital “W”.