Ask The Post

This Week: Washington Post deputy assistant managing editor for news art Dennis Brack was online Wednesday, Aug. 9, at noon ET to field your questions about the graphics and design of The Post.

The transcript follows.

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Arlington, Va.: Besides photos that have been altered with software, a number of Web sites are pointing out what they claim to be staged photos coming out of Lebanon. How does the Post ensure that news photos from outside agencies or other media sources it uses have not been staged?

Dennis Brack: Good afternoon, all!

Thanks for the good question. It's quite difficult to be 100 percent certain that a news photograph is authentic, just as it's difficult to be completely certain that a reporter has not created a quotation. Human nature is what it is, after all -- if journalists are set on deceiving their editors, it can be difficult to catch every instance of deceit. Basically, we have to trust our news sources to a certain degree.

For instance, the bulk of our non-staff photographs come from wire services that have a long track record of accuracy over decades of providing news coverage. That said, of course, lapses still manage to get through multiple layers of editors, as was the case with the altered Reuters photo earlier this week.

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Washington, D.C.: What is the deal with the A1 headline sizes? On the one hand The Post tries to be conservative and rarely gives the top story of the day a display wider than one column, but on the other hand the headline sizes are way too big for that one column, so the language becomes stilted and staccato. Either make the space wider or scale down the print to fit reasonably within that space.

Dennis Brack: That's a really good point. "Write like you talk," was a saying posted in one big city newsroom years ago. Yet, some of our headlines are, as you suggest, pretty staccato, etc. Our copy editors, who write the headlines, do amazing work under incredible pressure and they face space constraints that often lead to such "headlines." As we continually look to improve the design of the paper, creating environments more hospitable to clearer headline writing is definitely on the agenda.

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Boise, Idaho: Comment, not a question -- white space is "ideal" but if the choice has to be between x amount of white space and readability, readability comes first. My most recent eye exam put my vision at 20/40, hardly poor eyesight. Yet I've had to buy magnifying spectacles in order to read a lot of the copy on The Post site. Not good design, in my op. While I'm at it, I can't even read what I'm writing here without those magnifiers!

Dennis Brack: Yes, readability should be any designer's first priority. We try to strike a balance between ease of reading and fitting all of the editorial and advertising content that (we think) our readers want. Sometimes, unfortunately, we don't strike the right balance for some readers.

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Chantilly, Va.: Lovely art sometimes graces The Post's pages. Is it ever put up for sale? It seems this could be a bit of a money maker. Both The Post and the artist could profit.

Dennis Brack: Good question -- any dollar helps these days! Actually, most of the illustrations in our paper are done on a freelance basis. After appearing once in the Post, the illustrator retains the rights to his/her work. If you're interested in a specific drawing, the illustrator would probably be happy to chat with you about price.

Most of our staff photographs are available for sale. You can get more info on purchasing by going to the Washington Post Store link on washingtonpost.com, or by calling the paper.

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Washington, D.C.: I have noticed that European news agencies will use more graphic images of civilian casualties in war, that are more hidden to American eyes. Will The Post match this?

Dennis Brack: In general, U.S. newspapers and magazines are more sensitive about printing graphic photos of civilian or military casualties. Periodically, editors here and in other newsrooms engage in debates about whether to publish an image that might be offensive to some readers. Opinions usually vary among editors, and some of the debates can be spirited. In the end, it's the call of whatever senior editor is running the paper that day to judge an image's news value vs. it's potential to offend readers.

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Silver Spring, Md.: I'm a graphic designer in DC, and I'm very curious to know - since the paper is very text heavy, do your designers take courses or review the rules of typography? I'd imagine that would help tremendously if you decide the revamp the paper's design.

Dennis Brack: Yes, many of the art directors here have knowledge of typography either through formal education or years of experience. Michael Keegan, the art director of the paper, worked closely with the type designers who created the current fonts used in the paper. This type was custom made in an attempt to be the best fit was our paper, which does tend to be more text-heavy than others.

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Washington, D.C.: There seems to be a significant disconnect between your print-edition graphics (which are quite good, if still in too-short supply) and the ability to view and/or save these graphics via the Post Online. I typically will want to keep copies of your maps and charts, but find that often the only way to do so is to photocopy them from the print edition. Any plans to make the graphics more online-friendly?

Dennis Brack: Good question. Our colleagues over at washingtonpost.com do a great job at adapting our graphics for the web, as well as creating a lot of original, interactive content. But, as is the case with many things, resources are tight. We're constantly trying to make sure the graphics that help tell stories for our print audience also are available to the online audience. Compared with a few years ago, we've made tremendous progress in getting graphics online. Still, there's room to improve. Stick with us! Thanks.

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Long Beach, Calif.: Should news agencies and papers require photographs with negatives? It could help save the industry, and be a fool-proof way of determining unaltered photographs?

Dennis Brack: Photos have been altered and staged since the beginning of photography. Remember, there was mischief in the darkroom long before Photoshop. Unfortunately, I don't think that reverting to film would solve the relatively isolated ethical lapses that we hear about.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi. Just wanted to let you know that I absolutely HATE that bar running down the side of the front page of some sections. It looks terrible and it robs the front pages of valuable news space. It looks like something USA Today would do. That's not a compliment. What factors went into this misguided design decision?

Dennis Brack: Ah, the "rails," as we call them around here. Clearly, some readers do not use them, but others do. Research through the years has told us that many of our readers are busy and found the paper a struggle to get through in the amount of time they could spend with it. While some people read the paper page by page, others wanted more of a guide to the stories inside sections so they could find what they wanted to read without flipping through the entire paper. Thus, the rails and other forms of indexing.

An important note about space: As we added indexes to section fronts, such as Business and Metro, the amount of space devoted to news stories, photos and graphics in those sections has generally increased, too.

We're constantly re-evaluating design elements throughout the paper, including our indexes.

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McLean, Va.: Hello Dennis,

Other than photographs, illustrations, and preliminary sketches, is graphic design completely computerized these days? Is there still any need for drafting boards and drafting skills? Thanks.

Dennis Brack: Most of our work is now done on computers, but not everything. For instance, Patterson Clark, one of our news artists, has used paint made from plants to create drawings when he was looking for a specific look.

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Chevy Chase, Md.: The washingtonpost.com Web site features a number of ads. Since the online medium is entirely full color and doesn't contain the columns of a newspaper, the ad content tends to blend in as part of the page. To what extent is the design impact of an ad considered before it is placed? Does washingtonpost.com ever reject ads that are too distracting from the article that they will appear next to due to animation, etc.?

Dennis Brack: Good questions, but I have to defer to my friends across the river at washingtonpost.com, who are responsible for the web site.

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McLean, Va.: In the past fifteen years or so a "revolution" in the use of informational graphics and color has swept the newspaper industry. What do you think is the next wave of design trends, if any, that is affecting or will affect newspaper design in the next fifteen years?

Dennis Brack: I think the paper will continue to tell more stories visually. For the most part, photographs and graphics are still accompanied by a traditional narrative article. Sometimes, the clearest way to deliver a story to readers is not through a narrative -- a well-organized package of text and images is more direct and informative. I think we'll see more of these "nontraditional" ways to telling stories when it best suites the content.

And I think, eventually, U.S. papers will become physically smaller. For instance, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times will both become a bit smaller than the Post when they complete press overhauls in the next couple of years. Many readers have told us for years they want a more convenient package. Perhaps advertisers will catch on to the trend, as has happened elsewhere in the world. And the paper will become more valuable for both constituencies.

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Washington, D.C.: Do you feel that you're getting enough space for maps in the paper, or would you rather have more?

Dennis Brack: We'll always take more space. But having more great cartographers would be necessary, too.

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St. Louis, Mo., formerly D.C.: The Washington Post is a wonderful paper to read. Even after returning to the Midwest three years ago, I still read it every day online, and subscribe to the Sunday print edition.

However, I don't understand why a leader in news isn't a visual leader. Newspapers such as The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, L.A Times have managed to maintain their traditional conservative appearances, while exciting and surprising readers with beautiful, magazine-like or otherwise appropriate presentation.

Yet Lilliputian photos, staid typography, and a general lack of dimension and energy seems to cripple so many stories in the Post.

What are The Post's plans to bridge that visual gap?

Dennis Brack: Some of us here are trying to do just that. We live in a visual world where people are used to consuming information in many ways other than text. The Post -- and the U.S. newspaper industry in general -- still has yet to fully embrace the potential of dynamic visual storytelling. But, we doing a far better job than we did only a few short years ago. And, the great thing about newspapers is that we can evolve and improve everyday.

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Camden, N.Y.: Is all your work digital and what cameras do you give your staff? Also, do you check pictures that you receive to see if they have been altered with a program say like Photoshop? Thanks.

Dennis Brack: Our photographers use Cannon digital equipment.

Our picture editors and art directors are always on the lookout for photos that show signs of being altered. There's no way to be 100 percent certain that an image is authentic, but it's important to mention that most of the cases of doctored photos we hear about are spotted by sharp-eyed editors.

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Washington, D.C.: Simple question: what is the size of your main text typeface?

Dennis Brack: 9.4 points on 10 point leading

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Castleton, Va.: I have been a graphic artist for over 30 years. Lately, I've found I'm in a kind of proposal illustration rut - which I'm grateful for, but I'd like to investigate the possibility of doing some work for The Post.

What are the qualifications/specifications for the work, and how could I go about finding out some more information?

Thank you!

Dennis Brack: The best thing to do is send a portfolio of a few of your images to us. You can send to me at the Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, 20071

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Annandale, Va.: What's up with Sunday Source? I just don't get it.

Dennis Brack: You're not the only one, probably. Just like most sections, Source has fans, as well as readers who don't see much use in it. Sunday Source was designed to appeal to younger readers and to provide a home for entertainment listings in the Sunday paper. The section has evolved and improved tremendously since its debut several years ago. And, interestingly, it's attracted many readers who are much older than it's original target audience.

Keep giving Source a chance -- a really creative group of editors continues to tweak the section and work to make it an even stronger part of the part.

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Dennis Brack: A meeting awaits. Thanks for your questions, and thanks for reading.

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