Newspaper work
These are some pages I designed for the Contra Costa Times, a 180,000-circulation newspaper in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I was design editor from 1997 to 2006. Most of my time was spent planning presentation, designing section formats and managing other designers, but now and then I'd step in and design and paginate a page.  Nearly all of these were done on deadline. I generally prefer my deadline work to pages that have been planned to death in meetings. I like the immediacy and energy of daily newspapering, and I think it shows in the design.
 
ELECTION NIGHT 2004 There's a lot of information on this page. 
On election night everything keeps changing right up until deadline. I think we did a good job layering facts and keeping it all orderly.
BUSH INAUGURATION Strong horizontal elements, combined with the beautiful composition of the lead photo, make this page work.
SPRINGSTEEN
I designed the Sunday arts section
and its formats; this edition has
my cover  illustration, too
 
A&E BIG CALENDAR This is a weekly broadsheet double-truck 
that runs in the Sunday arts section.
 Its flexible format avoids blank squares on days when there are no notable events.
DANVILLE TIMES A weekly community tab. I had less than two weeks lead time to design it and train the production staff; news artist Dave Johnson did the illustration in the nameplate, the town's landmark oak tree.
PLEASANTON TIMES A weekly community tab with a similar format. This section launched a week after the Danville Times. Another beautiful Dave Johnson illustration in the flag, this one of downtown’s vintage welcome sign.
STEVE YOUNG POSTER PAGE
(my photo illustration)
 
 
BONDS MILESTONE (My photo illustration) 700 lines of stats. It's a challenge to crunch a bunch of type and still make a good page.
 RONALD REAGAN SPECIAL SECTION
 I did this commemorative section in a few hours
on deadline the day of Reagan's funeral.
 
 
RONALD REAGAN SPECIAL SECTION An inside page. I was photo editor, too, as
the photo staff was tied up with A1 and 
other breaking news.
 RONALD REAGAN SPECIAL SECTION
Another inside page.
 
 RONALD REAGAN SPECIAL SECTION
Another inside page.
 
SUNDAY OPINION COVER Sometimes, when when the section editor springs something on you and you have no art planned, you have to punt. But I think this type attack works better than a bunch of politician mugs any day.
COLUMBIA EXPLOSION
Such a sad story. It was important
to get all their faces above the fold.
 
 
POP CULTURE QUIZ
Illustration by
graphics chief Chuck Todd
 
 
QUIZ PAGE 1 The features editors weren't sure how they wanted 
this to come together, they just wanted something different. So I created a new grid and set 
the story up like a graphic.
QUIZ PAGE 2
 
QUIZ PAGE 3
 
IRAQ WAR BEGINS
A serious page for a serious day.
 
 
MILITARY FUNERAL The paper's photographers were so great to work with. Susan Tripp Pollard spent many hours with a family who lost their son in Iraq. This photo page shows just part of her amazing work that day.
WHERE WE LIVE: BERKELEY
This was a monthly section that highlighted
each of the Bay Area communities the paper serves.
 
 
WHERE WE LIVE: HERCULES After we featured all our communities, we did it again -- in photos. Designer Brenna Jennison took over after photo editor Alan Greth and I set up the new design.
NATALIE COUGHLIN
WHEATIES BOX
(my photo illustration)
 
ELVIS A&E COVER
Because Elvis is King.
 
PORTFOLIO: