Portfolio
Zocalo
In March 2007 we were approached by Don Francisco Juaristi, the publisher of a successful chain of newspapers in northern Mexico, with a plan. Don Francisco wanted to start a newspaper and robust online product in the city of Saltillo, a town which already had thriving competition in its local media market. At the first meeting we told Don Francisco that when you enter a market with a crowded print marketplace you have a unique opportunity to create a platform-neutral news organization with fully integrated print, online and mobile distribution for content, rather than the adapted print model of the competition.
He and his sons, who help him run the newspaper business, showed a real commitment to the web right away by hiring a highly talented web editor Liza Briones. Liza came to our Tampa office and spent an intensive week with us running through workflow, content strategy, and their user\-experience ambitions. Knowing the region and the fierce competition for audience, we knew that the site had to be easy to update to keep completely up-to-the-minute with breaking news, we knew they needed to be able to project bold photography well, and they needed to capture the energy of the Saltillo community.
Outcome
The result was a cacophony of bold photography, vibrant colors and a headline hierarchy that makes it easy for users at any part of the day to get a great glimpse of what is going on their community and what their neighbours are saying about it. The design, by Mario Garcia and Frank Traina, was built into an easy to use commercial CMS (Expression Engine) and launched in August 2008. Since then the website has become the dominant online medium in Saltillo and continues to see its audience numbers grow. As much as anything, the success of the vewnture is measured by Don Francisco in the growth of participation in the local conversations about politics, people and issues that matter.