Transformation Beyond Aesthetics: The Role of Design and Layout in Amplifying the Print

Platform and Audience Attraction of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

Before we begin, we’d like you to look at this layout of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

What do you think about this layout?

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This is the old layout of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Now, what do you think about this layout?

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This is the new and current layout of the Philippine Daily inquirer

And this is what we will be discussing this afternoon, Good Morning dear panel, I am Rea Michaela
Acuesta, and I am John Dexter Tilo and today we will be presenting our Thesis titled Transformation
Beyond Aesthetics: The Role of Design and Layout in Amplifying the Print Platform and Audience
Attraction of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) is one of the three leading broadsheets in the Philippines (Forbes, 2017).

In 2016, PDI redesigned their newspaper, they not only changed the design and layout but had a rethink
of their whole brand, a “transformation beyond aesthetics” said Sandra Prieto Romualdez President and
CEO of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Romualdez said a redesign project of this magnitude is unprecedented in Philippine media.

PDI also invited Dr. Mario Garcia, journalism’s design guru, who convinced PDI to take the path taken by
newspapers like Aftenposten of Norway, La Voz of Argentina, Mint of India and the Gatehouse Media
Group of the US which have undergone transformation, either through format change or a rethink (Prieto-
Romualdez, 2016).

PDI “wants to evolve their content to reinforce the role of Inquirer as an essential part of the daily habit.”

They also wanted to give back to their readers “the Inquirer experience – that must be consistent and it
must address the needs of their various audiences, each with different need and interests, and overall it
must be enjoyable to read.”

At the same time, in a study by The National Book Development Board in 2011, there’s a decline in
newspaper readership.
Newspapers are dying, said Jacek Utko - a Newspaper, Magazine and Web Designer and Media Consultant
in Europe.

He said that there was no practical reason for newspapers to survive in the long run due to the emergence
of new technologies.

But he ended up saving newspapers across central and Eastern Europe. In Russia, Bulgaria, and his
hometown Poland.

Redesigning these newspapers won him awards such as “covers of the year” and “world’s best
newspaper” from the Society of Newspaper Design.

The awards are amazing yes, but gained more than just awards, these newspapers’ in Europe, found an
increase in circulation.

After years of stagnation these papers started to grow, just after the redesign.

With these in mind, we ask:

Research Questions
1. What are the changes in design and layout of the Philippine Daily Inquirer?
2. Did the change in the design and layout of PDI’s broadsheet amplify their print platform?
3. Did the change attract the audience more to read and buy their paper?

Our study also aims to:

OBJECTIVES

1. To identify the components of the new design and layout of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
2. To compare and contrast the previous and the current layout of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
through audience perception and the Gestalt Principle
3. To determine if the audience preferred the current layout as opposed to the old layout
4. To determine if the audience are more likely to buy and read the newspaper after PDI’s
redesign.

Previous literatures have stated that humans are predominantly visual creatures (Romih, 2016). We are
currently undergoing a cultural transition from a verbal to a visual discourse (Boz, 2003). Hence, Carlson
said in 2018 that the greatest possible attention needs to be given to the visual aspects.

In the case of newspapers, everything that is seen affects the reader, and while content is important,
design and layout are also factors when readers buy and read newspapers.

This is because the front page of the newspaper is its packaging (Dosen and Brklajacic, 2018). And
according to Mittal (2014), the packaging of a product triggers a response from the consumers once they
look at it.
Previous studies related to audience perception towards the front page concluded that modern-format
newspapers received higher ratings than traditional designs (Utt and Pasternack, 1986). Matos and
Delfino (2014) also added that modern newspapers are more perceived as more pleasurable and relaxing
and that complex designs tend to distance the reader from the page rather than attract attentions.

However, designing newspapers is a complex process.

The front page of the newspaper attracts the readers and welcomes them to the content (McQuail, 2010
and Singer, 2001). The newspaper design facilitates communication and at the same time makes the
newspaper visually appealing (Saxena, 2013).

the gateway to a product is its packaging. The packaging of a product triggers a reaction from the
consumers once they look at it.

the newspaper is its front page. The front page of the newspaper attracts the readers and welcomes them
to the content (McQuail, 2010 and Singer, 2001). The newspaper design facilitates communication and at
the same time makes the newspaper visually appealing (Saxena, 2013).

RRL

- Visual Learning and perceptionc

- Audience Perception
- Front page design
- Consumer behavior

DEFINITION OF TERMS

In this research design and layout would refer to all the elements in the front page of the newspaper
and how they’re organized.

Elements such as: color, font, font size, pictures, placement and the like.

Amplifying would refer to whether or not there was positive effect on the print platform after the
newspaper’s redesign.

And lastly, Audience Attraction pertains to the perception of the readers towards the design and layout
of the front page and whether or not they think it’s appealing.

FRAMEWORK: (Present framework)

Our study is anchored on the Gestalt Theory and it has six principles namely:
Similarity. This component looks at what components of the newspaper are similar enough to make it
look unified. A unified layout pertains to the technical devices: font, pictures, font size, headlines, and
placement of the the text and pictures.

Continuation or Continuity. This component looks at the elements of the front page that compel the eye
to move in a certain direction. What was the reader compelled to look at at first glance, articles and
pictures in horizontal or vertical format?

Closure. This component looks at the parts of the front page that are packed tight and leave empty
spaces. Were the readers more likely to read newspapers that are more compact as opposed to
newspapers with loose spacings?

Proximity. This component looks at the parts of the front page that are placed together in a certain
distance to make it look unified. Were the elements in the newspaper, such as the colored text boxes,
etc., smartly placed?

Figure or Ground. This component looks at the part of the front page that gives the audience a clear
perspective that it is separated from the background. Would the readers be able to clearly point out the
banner story on the front page?

Symmetry and Order. This component looks at the parts of the front page that give the reader the idea
that the parts are balanced. Were the pictures and articles evenly distributed throughout the front
page?

METHOD:

In our study we analyzed the audience perception in relation to the gestalt principles

Audience Perception. In relation to feedback, the audience perception would look at whether the
audience preferred the current or old layout of the front page of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Out study is a comparative exploratory wherein we first identified the elements of the new design and
layout of PDI, conducted a survey to 385 respondents from the city of Manila and finally interviewing 12
random people from our previous respondents.

*MENTION LIMITATIONS

Take note that…

CONTRIBUTIONS

- it can contribute to the study of the Gestalt Principles and its timelessness in the design field
- This study also contributes to the lack of research correlating design and layout and its importance
to the print platform in the field of journalism in the Philippines.
- contributes to the future of print journalists, wherein more attention would be directed to how
they package their newspapers and that it could help in the salvation of print media

RESULTS
 - survey
- per principle

This gives another definition to Prieto’s phrase: “Transformation Beyond Aesthetics.” This time, aesthetics
paves a way for an amplified print platform in Transforming the print platform beyond design and layout,
beyond aesthetics.

GUIDE FOR PPT

TITLE

CONTEXT

- Introduce PDI
- PDI redesign
- Decline of readership
- Utko

Research Questions
4. What are the changes in design and layout of the Philippine Daily Inquirer?
5. Did the change in the design and layout of PDI’s broadsheet amplify their print platform?
6. Did the change attract the audience more to read and buy their paper?

OBJECTIVES

5. To identify the components of the new design and layout of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
6. To compare and contrast the previous and the current layout of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
through audience perception and the Gestalt Principle
7. To determine if the audience preferred the current layout as opposed to the old layout
8. To determine if the audience are more likely to buy and read the newspaper after PDI’s
redesign.

RRL

- Visual Learning and perception

- Audience Perception
- Front page design
- Consumer behavior

DEFINITION OF TERMS
 - Design and Layout
- Elements
- Amplifying
- Audience Attraction

FRAMEWORK

METHOD

- Comparative exploratory
- Survey 385 respondents from Manila
- 12 chosen at random for interview

*MENTION LIMITATIONS

CONTRIBUTIONS

- it can contribute to the study of the Gestalt Principles and its timelessness in the design field
- This study also contributes to the lack of research correlating design and layout and its importance
to the print platform in the field of journalism in the Philippines.
- contributes to the future of print journalists, wherein more attention would be directed to how
they package their newspapers and that it could help in the salvation of print media

RESULTS

- survey
- per principle