Can design save the newspaper industry?
One of the best TED Talks we've seen here at Sourcefabric was way back in the last decade (2009 to be precise) by Jacek Utko. He eulogised the virtues of design for newspapers and backed this up with quantative data to show how good design improves circulation. For exactly this reason, we've just launched our latest design contest.
Take a few minutes, check out Jacek's video, then hop over to 12designer and submit your designs to win cash and support independent media!
As Jacek himself says on his site, "Newspapers are dying for serious reasons. Simply changing the look cannot save them, but design coherent with strategy and content can be used as a tool to completely change the product, the process, and the future of the industry."
That's where you come in. We believe good design can significantly benefit independent media worldwide. Design a theme for our free, open source content management system (CMS) that takes into account the unique challenges of the newspaper and, if you're selected as a winner, you'll get a cash prize and we'll turn your vision into a living, breathing theme available to every Newscoop user for free.
Free speech, free software, free design. Sounds good to us.