Writing for the smartphone in the modern era

We are writing on electronic devices all of our hours and days, in several different ways, with multiple styles and factors. The transformation of newspapers, from typographic to digital composition, the color above the black and white, the pixels over the pen signs.

The digital editions of many newspapers around the world are deeply different from the analogic versions and so are the writers and the readers.

«Whether transforming newspapers from broadsheets to tabloids, from tabloids to Berliners, from black and white to color, from print to online–my role has been as steward of the story, always insuring the it was told. Today we live in a mobile culture; thus, the new art of storytelling requires that, yet again, we who tell stories must adapt to a new medium in order to continue engaging our reader.»

The Story – Volume I: Transformation by Mario Garcia

The newspaper industry has been struggling for years to find ways to be read, cultivated and increased their subscribers: if they find ways to concentrate long and complex texts on smaller surfaces, we can also steal ideas for sites and blogs. A new linearity by Luisa Carrada explains what makes the books so interesting are the solutions that Garcia has identified to make the articles, especially the longest ones, very readable on the few square centimeters of our phones.

«Storytelling is the beating heart of journalism–and good design. It is also the one part of the journalistic craft that has undergone the biggest transformation as we practice the journalism of the mobile era.»

The Story – Volume II: Storytelling by Mario Garcia

Which stories are best suited for unrolling and how should they be designed to catch and hold the reader glued?

  • stories with strong visual potential, to be expressed through photos, videos
  • titles and subtitles are fundamental to push the reader always forward
  • the text must be simple: short paragraphs, each one a focus, and short periods
  • the incipit is decisive, so better to go down in history, direct to the point
  • captions are fundamental because they connect text and images, and constitute an additional entry point

Mario Garcia’s books are a must to read: they talk about visual design and storytelling revolutions. They can help you to write better, to produce better websites and content.

Change happens when you take the path of innovation. The best tools are those that last over time and they are what allow us to face the challenges of disruptive changes: this is the Mario Garcia’s blog.

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