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Editorial
& Design
Editorial
Development
Editorial
development is the process of turning ideas into content. Publishers
depend on a consistent flow of marketable ideas to maintain their
projected level of output. In order to establish consistency,
the senior editorial staff must be: on the look-out for emerging
opportunities, constructively critical of past efforts and aware
of the comparative advantages of their publication in comparison
to competitive titles.
However,
with the demands of day-to-day commitments invariable encroaching
on the time available for reflection and planning, these necessities
are often marginalized.
Lexicon
can help fill the gaps by:
- Determining
editorial strengths and weaknesses through market research;
- Establishing
the feasibility of entering new markets, and creating a solid
planning framework for implementing expansions;
- Conducting
competitive analysis focusing on the relative sales performance
of: 1) individual publications against those of the same genre;
and 2) your entire product line against publishers of similar
size;
- Developing
or improving the contents of departments and features, and generating
numerous editorial concepts to form the basis if future issues;
- Streamlining
existing operations to optimize the developmental efforts of
the senior editorial staff.
Design
Development
Publication
design is about the graphic interpretation of words. When carried
out most effectively, design captures the essence of a publication
and does something provocative with it to stimulate the reader's
imagination. By thinking about and understanding the nature of
the publication to be designed, an approach can be developed which
relates to its prospective audience.
The
designer must think beyond the artistic side of his or her task, and sometimes beyond even the preferences of readers, to come
to grips with budgetary constraints. Therefore, knowledge of both
art and cost budgeting is crucial. Truly great design is the ability
to balance the forces of artistic excellence, relevance and expense, all potentially in conflict with one another, to emerge with
a profitable publication that demands to be picked up from a newsstand
or from a subscriber's coffee table.
Lexicon
services include:
- Market
testing of past and prospective issue designs and the determination
of their impact on sales performance;
- Elemental
design analysis (cover, table of contents, features, etc.) and
training, typically in a workshop environment;
- Determining
the relevance and cost justification for migration to automated
design equipment;
- Selection
of suitable and cost effective suppliers of design and production
services.
In
short, Lexicon can help to bring more effective editorial and
design management to your publishing organization, allowing for
improved productivity, decreased costs and a positive impact on
demand and market perception.
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