7 Newspapers we love this October

Roll up for our October roundup! There's no broadsheets in the mix this time (we’ll make up for it next month) but the minis and tabloids more than pull their weight. Buses, books and Brompton Design District all found their way onto newsprint – plus a few other brilliant things that don't start with B.

Driving change

First Bus used our recycled newsprint to publish Our Vision, a whitepaper showing how buses help reduce congestion and move us closer to a sustainable future. Designed by Morgan Hastie, the tabloid launched at the Labour Party Conference as part of the brand’s wider public engagement campaign.

“Buses and newspapers have always gone together,” says the team at First Bus. “We wanted something people could read and share easily at events. And as a business working towards achieving net zero, we wanted that reflected in how we produce our marketing materials.”

Peep show

We’re still buzzing from all the exciting ways newspapers popped up at this year’s London Design Festival. Over in east London, Odd Universe launched a tabloid, designed by creative agency Soup, as part of a drinks-led installation with A Bar with Shapes for a Name.

There are contributions from designers, chefs, artists and writers exploring how design connects across disciplines – and the punch-out eyeholes mirror The Peepers, a new stool by Odd Universe launched at the festival.

Neighbourhood news

World Kiosk is a touring community art project and newspaper documenting neighbourhoods through a series of hyper-local editions. Led by artist David Shearing of Variable Matter and designed by Joe Hales and Sam Eccles, each tabloid captures residents’ stories and is distributed in public squares and other community spaces. This third edition focuses on Billingham, England.

“The newspaper form feels familiar and accessible,” says David. “It’s something people can share and allows us to tell good news and complex stories alike. Each one becomes part of a living archive, tracing the evolving story of World Kiosk.”

Paper trail

Brompton Design District used our tabloids to guide visitors through the many venues taking part in this year’s London Design Festival. Designed by Studio Vedet to reflect curator Alex Tieghi-Walker’s theme of A Softer World, the newspapers brought the brand identity into the real world. And then they had a second life wrapping artworks heading home!

“It was so rewarding to see people walking the neighbourhood with the paper in hand, bringing the branding into real time,” says Alex. “Long live print!”

Full-circle comics

Cartoonist and professor Ryan Claytor is sharing a peek into his creative process with The Elephant Eater Comics Annual Dispatch – a tabloid newspaper he’s crowdfunding on Kickstarter. It hit its funding goal in just one day (nice!) and now Ryan’s raising stretch goals to add more pages.

"This publication feels like a full-circle moment, harkening back to when I’d crack open our family’s Sunday paper and read the comics on the floor."

“As a cartoonist and comics reader, newspaper holds a special place in my heart,” he says. “Not only is it where comic STRIPS first came into wider cultural awareness, but even comic BOOKS were printed on low-grade, pulpy newsprint for many decades."

If you want to support Ryan’s project (and get a copy of his newspaper!) the campaign is running until 28 October.

Behind the music

Kinotone is a Minneapolis-based maker of electronic instruments. For a recent trade show they swapped the typical glossy handout for a tabloid newspaper about their new product. Founder Jaak Jensen designed it himself, as a tactile way to share their story “beyond the convention floor.”

"The  newspaper sparked great conversations at our booth and after the show.”

“Most event handouts feel disposable,” says production manager Hannah Aaron. “We use uncoated, matte finishes in our packaging, so a newspaper felt naturally aligned. It’s organic, personal and a bit nostalgic. People were thrilled – we heard lots of 'nobody prints things these days!' comments."

Novel approach

We’ve been printing Canongate’s twice-annual catalogues since 2016, and they always look fantastic. The UK-based book publisher uses our mini newspapers to share upcoming releases with booksellers and readers. This latest edition, featuring a cover illustration by Glasgow-based artist Agnes Xantippa Boman, is a preview of new titles to look forward to next spring.

“A newspaper is a very apt format for our catalogue,” says head of brand Alan Nevens. “It’s un-precious, shows off our beautiful covers and is easy to take notes on or scrunch into a bag!”

 

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