YDR Insider

Part of the USA Today Network

Design team gets started on the look of York’s Mobile Media Lab

I met yesterday with two of our artists, Melissa “Tink” Rosario and Samantha “Sam” Dellinger, to brainstorm ideas for the design of the York Daily Record’s Mobile Media Lab. We were joined by Krista Mercadante from the York Newspaper Co.’s marketing department.

Sam had worked up a great starting point for consideration. Check this out:

Click here to view a larger .pdf version of the YDR wrapper

I love what she’s done with the big button-like logos and with the cut-away of the woman using the iPad.

We get back together again on Friday to refine the ideas some more. Our plan is to work up a design for the roof that makes it look like a giant smartphone that displays the GameTimePa app. We will also incorporate more of the devices that people read us on — laptops, desktops, etc.

One struggle is to not overload this with too many of the brands we work with. If we go crazy with brands we’ll end up with Weekly Record, Yorkblog.com, InYork.com, Buffy’s World, York Town Square, Money&More, etc., etc. We don’t want to lose focus.

Another debate point is how to represent the newspaper itself, if at all. The purpose of the van is to promote the new tools we use to serve the community. But we recognize that the newspaper still serves a tremendously important need in the community. Would it be incongruous to include some representation of the paper in this design? Would it be disrespectful of the legacy that got us here to not use it?

What do you think? We’d love to hear your ideas. Heck, how about some sketches? Share your thoughts with me here. I’m a firm believer that the best ideas should prevail. Show me your ideas and maybe you’ll soon see them driving around the county.