Europe's best designed newspaper in the category 'regional newspaper'. The typeface Helvetica and the clear page layout mark this newspaper's regional character.
The use of the Helvetica and their house colour red give "Basler Zeitung" its characteristically Swiss appeal. Jurors from Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Spain admire this newspaper for their clear and matter-of-fact presentation. It has seen a number of changes in recent years, but remained faithful to its clean and clear layout. "Basler Zeitung" plays with four different colours, which are only used on the sectional font pages, though. Their clear layout makes the newspaper stand out like a quiet island in an ever-confusing newspaper market.
Masthead. Although it has remained unchanged for 25 years, it still has a modern touch to it. The reason for this is the mixture of capital and small letters and its position flush left.
Details on the Newspaper. Recurrent details such as date, price, address, telephone number, distributor etc are placed on the top right next to the masthead - a clean solution.
Lead Photo. The speaker at the bottom right is placed against a painting showing a vast sky, which fills the major part of the photograph. The selection of this photo creates a nice contrast to the dry topic of the news.
Typography. For headlines the Helvetica is used, the epitome of Swiss precision and clarity. The bodycopy is set in the Bitstream Charter, which has proved its worth in the previous ten years in numerous relaunches.
Structuring. The lead article contains empty lines and semibold starters in some paragraphs. In this way long articles can be broken up and presented in a reader-friendly manner.
Standard Inside Page. The above page is dominated by a large photo forming part of the lead story. The article at the bottom left is supplemented by a service box in unjustified print. The use of a single photograph creates a serious effect.
Pages Two and Three. The top of these two pages always contains news items and small photos. The left column is reserved for a comment in unjustified print and the remaining space on the page is filled with the most important news on external affairs.This double page serves as a table of contents for the readers. It is complemented by information on current events on the top right. The page layout varies with the different widths of the columns. The lead articles on this page, for instance, are set in wider columns.
Sectional Front Page. The initial pages of each section are marked by a coloured field, which takes in information on the weather, the stock exchange or sport charts, but also news items. Apart from this, sectional front pages contain a long lead story plus a big and well-cut photo, which sets these pages apart from regular inside pages.
News items or smaller articles are placed in the column on the far right.
"Basler Zeitung" sells 93,000 copies. Their Swiss format is almost identical with the handy Berlin format.They employ 90 journalists, 3 photographers and 10 layouters. Their home page is bazonline.ch.