Europe's best designed newspaper in the category 'local newspaper'. Their striking feature: unique sectional front pages.
This newspaper's most innovative design is their sectional front pages. They consist of a large picture in the upper part and a similarly large colour field below, thus introducing each new section. Furthermore, the readers are led through the paper by means of key words appearing on the appropriate pages, which resemble those known from the Internet. A most remarkable element with "Diario de Balears" is its rhythm of short and long articles resulting in variety and surprise for the readers. Their homepage www.dbalears.cat is of the same modern and updated appearance as the printed medium.
Masthead. What is it that makes the newspaper look so terrifically updated? Firstly, the abbreviated title "dBalears"; secondly, the use of contrasting colours, grey and red; thirdly, its position flush left.
Teasers above the Masthead. Local and nationwide news are referred to by pictures in the teasers. The advert on the right is well integrated into the masthead.
Lead Story. It is placed under the masthead and pointed out by a two-deck headline. Most articles on this page deal with local topics.
Solo Picture. Its position is on the lower part of the front page and it is separated from the surrounding articles by vertical and horizontal lines.
Amount of Topics. Six different topics are mentioned on this page. The quantity of body copy is rather limited, thus making room for a varied layout which - typical of Spanish newspapers - gives the front page its poster-like appearance.
Typography. The serif typeface has a light and serious appearance. Neither the front page nor the inside pages have a tendency towards a tabloid-like layout.
Readability. The slugs are printed in capitals, which do not make for easy reading. But, on the whole, good readabilty and a clear survey are provided for.
Reader Guidance. The sectional front titles resemble website design. Among a number of key words the essential ones are printed in red like "Primera Divisió".
Infographics. Also local papers make use of infographics. With "Diario de Balears" they are simple, clear and clean. A very interesting detail are the colours which differ from the usual range of colours for infographics and call for attention.
Double Page. This double page is entitled 'Giants of the air'. Pictures are generously spread out, there is a lot of white space and a set of infographics on the right. The three-column article is broken up by a qotation with an optimal position in the middle.
Sectional Front Page. Each section opens on the right and is free of adverts. They are marked by large numbers and a colour of their own. In this way the reader is guided from section to section. The line of key words under the sectional front head supply the readers with a first impression of the contents offered in each section.
"Diario de Balears" is published in a tabloid format (half Nordic format) with a circulation of 4,000 copies. Their language is Catalan. The newspaper employs 30 journalists, 2 photographers, and 6 layouters. The printed medium can also be looked up in their PDFs on their home page dbalears.cat/arxiu