Extra! Extra! 10 inspiring newspapers to kickstart your design process

Sometimes the vision for your newspaper comes straight away – and sometimes you're stuck staring at a blank page wondering where to start. If you're needing a dose of inspiration, we've got you covered!

We've been printing newspapers for over 14 years and have built a library of brilliant examples from our creative community along the way. Every month we share a roundup on our blog showing what's hot off the press, and we're highlighting some of our favourite newspapers below.

From the pyjama brand capturing “that slow Sunday feeling” in print to the hotel using a zine to help guests explore the local area, here are 10 creative newspapers to kickstart your design process.

Pillow talk

Luxury pyjama brand Desmond and Dempsey publishes an issue of The Sunday Paper alongside each new collection. Part catalogue and part magazine, it’s designed to channel “that slow Sunday feeling” in print and deliver a physical intimacy with their readers that screens can’t replicate. Customers love it and every issue so far has sold out. Printed on our tabloid newspapers.

Bright ideas

Color Cord Company offers cloth-covered electrical wire in over 100 different shades. Founded in 2013 with design and DIY in mind, they make lighting accessible for interior designers, architects and homeowners alike. The Color Cord Chronicle, printed on our digital broadsheets, is a bright and playful introduction to the brand.

“We chose a newspaper to set ourselves apart from the competition and bring a little fun into lighting design,” says designer Victor Machado. “Being a web-based company, it was a fun departure to design something physical. The response has been very positive – people are loving it!”

Juicy headlines

Drinks brand innocent added a quirky touch to a customer event with this newspaper, written in their characteristically playful style. Alongside practical product and brand details are fake horoscopes and fun headlines – like “flamingos consider copyright claim” above a snippet about their new pink smoothie.

"Little touches like this can make a big difference!"

The team “got a kick out of bringing the innocent look and feel to the newspaper format,” says copywriter David Kay. And the digital tabloid was a hit with customers, too. David says: “Little touches like this can make a big difference. There aren’t a lot of brands that encourage this kind of behaviour but, luckily for us, innocent is one of them.” Designed by Abby Hudspith.

Drawing directory

Illustration agency Brilliant Artists showcases their talented roster of artists - who work with the likes of Apple, The New Yorker and Penguin Random House – in this digital mini zine. Founders Hannah Shilland and Sam Walker wanted to send clients something “simple but eye-catching” that would let their artists’ work do the talking.

Our smallest newspaper format is a good fit for their compact agency. “We really like the laidback and approachable quality,” say Hannah and Sam. “The feedback has been great. We've had a lot of people requesting a zine and since the initial send-out we’ve already booked several meetings!”

Just our type

Since 2012, The Designers Foundry has made inventive but accessible typefaces used by the likes of Apple, Nike, Netflix and the BBC. This type specimen, printed on our tabloid newspapers, celebrates the release of Tomato Grotesk — a modern font designed by Andrea Biggio. We love a pared-back palette and here a bold, three-colour design quickly communicates this font’s saucy personality.

Time-travelling trade show

Seltzer and snack brand Hal's New York used newspapers as part of an immersive display at a recent trade show. Evoking their Brooklyn deli origins in the 1940s, they crafted a vintage-inspired setting to showcase their products – complete with a neon sign and newspaper dispenser stocked with digital tabloids:

“It's so fun to be able to design a physical piece in an increasingly digital world,” says creative agency Suite9c. “And the team at Hal's loved seeing their brand come to life in a new way!”

Nifty fifty

Hip hip hooray for avid aerialist Anna, who turned fifty this year. Her pal Bob van Bekkum, a creative director, collected messages and photos from friends around the world for this special edition broadsheet all about her first half-century.

“A newspaper is such a tangible keepsake and sat well with Anna’s love of retro,” says Bob. “When she first received the stack of papers, it took a moment for Anna to realise it was all about her and not something generic about her birth year. It was quite emotional!”

Paper trail

Cuyama Buckhown is a restored roadside hotel in Cuyama Valley, a nearly 2-million-acre wilderness north of Santa Barbara, California. With so much to explore, they teamed up with Los Padres ForestWatch to produce this 56-page guide to the area.

"We’re selling the newspapers at the hotel and we’ve never had a product fly off the shelf like this before!"

The digital mini features detailed trail guides (with QR codes linking to geolocations), points of interest, local resources and a packing list for day-trippers. It’s the perfect size for rolling up and sticking in a rucksack to consult on the go.

“The project called for a very tactile look and feel,” says designer Kiana Toossi. “We’re selling the newspapers in our market at the hotel and we’ve never had a product fly off the shelf like this before. Everyone has been loving it!”

Brew news

Touchy Coffee is a specialty coffee roasting business in upstate New York and this is their guide to brewing great coffee at home. The digital tabloid, which is included in their subscription boxes and given away at events, opens up into a poster with their motto: “Coffee is a miracle and so are you.”

“I've dreamed of designing a project to be printed on newsprint for so long,” says founder (and designer) Felicity Jones. “When we needed to create a well-designed brew guide at a low cost, newsprint was the perfect option. Plus the fold-out poster looks incredibly cool on the salmon-colored paper!”

Top swatch

Overwhelmed by social media and digital noise, the team at climate-conscious paint brand COAT “paused and decided to make something tactile instead.”

"The design process gave our team an opportunity to get really inventive!"

They’re using a series of newspapers, printed on our minis and tabloids, to “talk about important things in a way that feels more real,” says marketing assistant Abi Moody. “The design process gave our team an opportunity to get really inventive and the feedback from our customers has been really positive. It's been great to see people taking a break from their screens and flicking through our newspaper!"

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