Austin Chronicle Art Director Jason Stout first started mulling a redesign of the paper after Trump was elected. The attacks on the press, the constant bleating about “fake news” – it made him want to communicate something, via design, to our readers. That we were trustworthy. Even – and this isn’t a quality alt-weeklies have traditionally chased – respectable.
Since then, Jason started and discarded a number of different looks before settling on our new logo (or “masthead” as it’s called when it appears on the cover or front page of a newspaper). If you ask him, he’ll get in the weeds with you: about the technical challenges of our masthead (apparently “The Austin” has always been a bedevilment), how he meant to subtly call back to old letterpress typesetting, and his favorite flourish, the way the “R” gently hugs the “O.”
That’s the view from in the weeds. The longer view? Soon, startlingly soon, the newness will wear off and we’ll all forget the way it used to look. Same as the restaurant marquees and public landmarks and passive-aggressive notes we leave our co-workers, they all eventually just become part of the landscape. That’s not a bad thing. Their very familiarity signals something reassuring and solid, their sumness evoking a feeling of community. Still, it felt like a good time, while we have your attention, to take a closer look at the signs and designs all around us. To see the world again with fresh eyes, if only for a short while.
This article appears in January 31 • 2020.
