Washington Post newsletters

In 2018, I redesigned The Post’s newsletter product and brand suite that thousands of subscribers (and non-subscribers) pass through daily. The goal was to create an overarching brand visual for over 80 newsletters across 8 different sections.

 
 

Product redesign —

Before redesign, newsletters varied in style and the design was largely unmanaged. Understandably, editors wanted their product to stand out among the sea of newsletters that The Post offers.

I was tasked to simplify design and minimize code weight without compromising the brand look. We wanted controlled customization for newsletters.

So, I created three tiers of design for newsletters: 1) standard design, 2) introduction of an icon or logo, and 3) the introduction of a colored top navigation, with or without icon.

 

Standard design

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Icon

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Nav color

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We aligned the newsletter design with The Post’s website when thinking about existing and additional modules and styles — from bylines and body copy to lists and feeds. We chose text styles that could be repurposed in different contexts in order to minimize code weight and clipping.

I created mockups for the mobile and desktop experience for each newsletter to determine each specific newsletter’s needs, and we determined what interactions or responsiveness were worth the code weight.

 
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We worked alongside analysts to inform our design decisions on what drove readers to click on stories from their inbox to the app or website.

 
 
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We created modules that lived in the footer of each newsletter, driving users to sign up for related newsletters and reinforcing the new redesign of each newsletter.

 
 

I worked on iconography styles that were incorporated into newsletter logos and section headers.

Logo for Dave Weigel’s newsletter, The Trailer

Logo for Dave Weigel’s newsletter, The Trailer

 
 
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Recurring iconography for Read These Comments

Recurring iconography for Read These Comments

 
 
 
 

Brand redesign —

Before redesign, newsletters varied heavily in style and color. I explored different colors for the sections: Politics, Sports, Business/Technology, Local, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Family, and Opinions/Post. We also created email alert styles for products with no specified frequency.

 
 
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If newsletters had already been branded previously, we preserved the existing components. If newsletters crossed over between sections, we utilized a color gradient. We moved away from filler stock photography towards combining images with intentional design.

 
 
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We settled into a mix of stylized iconography, illustration, and photography. The result was a consistent look across all categories and sections of The Post’s newsletters.

 

Before redesign

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After redesign

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Each newsletter visual exists in three different proportions and sizes: the social share, landing page (pictured above), and unsubscribe page.

 
 
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I created animations for ads and promotions based on the rebranded material, working with editors on language and making sure visuals aligned with content.

 
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