Response: designing for VOX's special travel issue

or, "why meeting deadlines is crucial for journalists"

When taking an exam in one of my first real journalism classes at MU (Cross-Cultural Journalism) my professor poked fun at the last few students staying past class to finish up their exams. I'll always remember her saying the bunch of us would probably be good journalists since we were determined to work straight up to deadline.

I have another theory, however. I believe a fair number of people are attracted to studying journalism because it allows for procrastination (to an extent). As a student who's nearing alum status at one of the world's strongest journalism programs, I can tell you all about the rush of adrenaline you get from pumping out a piece right before deadline. It doesn't matter if you're reporting a breaking story or designing 1A. Finishing your work right before deadline — and knowing you did a good job – is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world. Even if you're not really procrastinating, it sure does feel like you've been trying to play catch-up.

But there are some who take procrastination too far. They consistently fail to meet their deadlines, which makes it hard for those who work after them to further develop a story. Procrastinators make life harder for those who plan ahead and schedule every step they're going to need to take in order for a story to be published on time without errors.

Unfortunately, designers are all too often left at the end groping for content that isn't available, which requires us to (at times) create designs with a limited understanding of the story to be presented. It is both our curse and our opportunity to make sure that everything in a story's package comes together in a visually appealing, content-driven way. Without the content, though, this can be difficult to navigate.

I know a number of designers struggled with this while working on this week's special edition of VOX. The problems can't be blamed solely on procrastination. A good majority of the publication's template was reworked for the special issue, which threw off everybody working on the issue. Miscommunication played a role as well.

The bottom line is that each individual on the chain needs to work his/her behind off as to not hinder the progress of those who come after them. And if something should go awry along the way, it's okay to admit your fault, apologize to those whose progress you slowed down and then move on with life.