By now, I’ve designed a number of front pages and front-page centerpieces. This is one of the few that I’ve not absolutely despised. I had a number of challenges here, including a directive to strip two stories across the top regarding the ISIS arrest and then a very horizontal, very shallow lottery photo. Downpage, I had El Chapo and the St. Louis Cardinals hacker — meaning that I had stand alone lottery art and four stories, and all four were about crime. It finally fell together when I found a way to match the width of the ISIS and the El Chapo photos at the top and bottom. Glad I don’t have to do this every day, though. I don’t know how Clarissa Contreras pulls this off.
JANUARY 9, 2016