Mint is also indicative of a healthy appetite for quality business reporting within India and the acceptance of a newspaper that is different - both in its size, in its colour and its layout. Firstly in terms of size Mint goes the Berliner way - narrower and shorter than most broadsheet Indian newspapers, but inline with the series of recent newspaper redesigns across Europe. The result is a handy, compact format - less of an elbow jostle with your fellow passengers. Though no insight yet on its acceptability in overcrowded Mumbai trains.
Mint is a bright orange hue - setting it apart from fellow dailies and its uncluttered layout, emphatic use of type, clear distinctive and yet balanced typographic grays is a sheer delight. The prize winner for me is its Lounge section, published every Saturday. This section uses white in a way that is alien to any Indian newspaper - ie., it uses white and large expanses of it. And I am not just talking the 10mm margin. I have yet to dwelve deeper into the fabulous content of its last Saturday's lounge - on fellow Indians who have turned 60. Its a visual feast - partly because of the interplay between the form and the absence of it - the beautiful illustrations, photographs and type - and of course, the content.
If you want to know more then best to start off with a great little note from the man who designed the newspaper - Mario Garcia. And it may be well worth a little visit online to livemint.com - the web companion to the printed version. More on livemint - later.
1 comment:
That's interesting JD.
As a Garcia project, Mint naturally evoked early interest. But then on seeing images of a few pages online, it seemed as if some of the typographic and colour choices were rather off.
At that level of viewing, the use of Franklin Gothic, Amplitude and Bodoni/Century/Scotch (or thereabouts) seemed an uneasy mix. As if the designer couldn't quite resolve whether to be Wall Street Journal or Mint: classical or cool?
With the pun on the name quite clearly there it also seemed a curious decision not to extend it to colour and go green. For, after all, besides the obvious reference to money, traditionally called green-backs, it would have more readily conveyed the right cues on the brand - fresh, unconventional, pleasant.
As it appears now from your post, one probably was too hasty in coming to a judgemint :). Need to take a closer look whenever one can get hold of a copy (can somebody who's 'Ich Bin Ain Mumbaikaar' help?)
Post a Comment