At the Powell Tribune we’re proud of producing a paper that not only has relevant, interesting stories, exciting pictures and useful advertising, but one that displays all of this information in an eye-catching format. 

Not to brag too much, but last year our design team won the top prize for front page design in our category at the Wyoming Press Association contest, and was also awarded honors for open page design and use of photos, amongst others. 

And yet, if you look at today’s paper, you’ll notice some changes to that design. 

Why are we changing? Toby Bonner, our co-owner and general manager, said it best to a Powell High School reporter: “The Tribune’s current look is strong, but it’s important not to rest on that strength but work to improve it. Our readers deserve that.”

Because our focus is on our readers, we invited a handful of longtime readers to critique our current design and proposed changes. We also listened to some longtime newspaper professionals from around the country about what they felt could be improved. 

What we came up with isn’t a massive redesign such as in 2007, but, as Toby puts it, a “refreshing of the current design.”

Tribune Publisher Dave Bonner, who purchased the paper in 1964, said the new look is “clean and bright and appealing to readers.”

We worked to make a cleaner, bolder flag that retains Heart Mountain at the center, updated the fonts for headlines to make those more easily readable, and changed some of the design elements such as pull quotes and section headers to make the paper more clear and accessible. 

We even made some of these changes over some of our personal views because readers voted overwhelmingly for another look — because this is your paper. 

It’d be nice if this freshening is recognized by our peers in the industry and we continue to win awards for our design, but more importantly we hope this look makes it even easier and more enjoyable to read your hometown newspaper, whether you buy the paper from a box around town, get it delivered in the mail across the region, or even look at our e-edition from another state or country. 

And as always, don’t hesitate to write a letter to me if you feel there are other Tribune design offerings that could be bettered. While we can’t make every change everyone wants, we’re always listening and working to provide you with the best paper we can.