Newspaper interview

For part of my publication, I wanted to have an interview with the creator of the featured character of the newspaper - the Master Chief from the Halo video-game series (1). This was included in my flat plan of the proposed newspaper, and the section has evolved since the decision to include the interview.

Firstly, I reached out to Marcus Lehto, the former Creative Art Director at Bungie Studios (2) for an interview about character design and his experiences in character creation over the years. As he was such an important person involved in the creation of the Halo series, I did not expect him to accept the interview, but because it was about a topic close to his heart, I am positive that this is why he agreed to it.

The interview took place over the course of a day and included answers for questions I had prepared in advance, which included asking about the creation of the Master Chief, his artistic influences, and tips for successful character design. The following is the proposed page for the interview.

This shows the interview being no more than a paragraph tall, in the right corner of the first double page spread. It was also surrounded by a lot of illustrations and other text, when it was meant to be the main feature of the publication. At this initial stage, I was trying to include too many ideas into such a small newspaper that I didn't give the interview the room it needed to breathe.

This is the finished interview page, as seen in Adobe InDesign, that shows a range of improvements over the original plan. Along with the added colour and modern circular style, I have extended the interview over the entire page, which has a cleaner aesthetic, while helping to space out each question and highlight the interviewee himself in the bottom corner. I prefer this style as it is more professional and finalised when compared to the initial proposal.


The development of the interview page for my newspaper publication shows how much elements and layout can change during the planning stages. The length of the interview was also affected by the complexity of the answers that I was given by the interviewee, meaning that I had to present them in full in the same section. I am pleased that the text and image have incorporated seamlessly into my coloured template, and has an instant professional look.

Papio Press visit

Papio Press - consisting of former students Zanna and Harry - came in to talk about their business with the second year. They started the business at the end of their second year on the course, through the online shop, Etsy. Later on, they reached out and set up similar stores on Not on the High Street and their personal site. At the end of the third year, the product range for Papio Press was expanded, allowing the business to win a "Growth Hub" competition within the university. Through their presence on Etsy, they were found by, and collaborated with, the Natural History Museum, where they produced illustrations based on a competition for 'National Photographer of the Year'.

Ensuring a larger customer base, the former students continue to promote themselves through various forms of social media. Papio Press are currently collaborating with a large company called One King's Lane, a partnership which involves the company printing and producing their work and giving commission to the small business. However, the business has had various issues in the past, involving initial struggles with tax returns, an inadequate supplier resulting in ill-fitting stock, and postage concerns leading to bad feedback on their site. With this in mind though, Papio Press is more successful than ever, producing and selling enough stock for the business to be the central focus of both of its founders.