2006-08-01

A new kid on the block

There's a (yet another) new publication in town. It's a Sinhala newspaper, called Mavubima (Mother-land) and carries a fascinating tabloid named after a machine gun.

Why, because it wants to be a weapon that shapes the future.

You could contribute your articles, views and opinions to the tabloid - but they'll be published without your name. No credit to the writer. They say, what matters is the substance and the contents of the feature - not the person who wrote the piece.

Pretty neat, pretty cool attitude, I thought.

And of course, I loved the design. In a country where graphic design and art direction is (pretty much) at its infancy, it is heart-warming to see a newspaper tabloid of such quality. I don't necessarily agree with the "new-age Sinhala language" they are using, but I love the design and the presentation. It reminds me of Loaded, and some of those weird German magazines where the new design trends are born. It reminds me of the work that I used to see from AUB and AUD graduates. Fresh, liberal and unconventional.

I hope the good work continues and the spirit never dies. I'm going to buy that paper next weekend.

6 comments:

  1. isnt this the new SLFP paper?

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  2. you can judge their bias ( if there is one) yourself in their website .
    http://www.mawbima.lk

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  3. ne idea of what fonts to use?

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  4. I had no idea which party the paper belonged to - I just saw the tabloid and nicked it. I liked the design, the attitude, not the language.

    Like I said, I was going to buy the paper next weekend - to explore it myself.

    Sittingnut: Thanks for the info.

    ~cc~: Fonts..????

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  5. Just three weeks in to my first comment, I'm beginning to reconsider my admiration for the tabloid. It's losing the touch, the content is becoming of no real substance. The design is failing, there are lots of infringed copyrigthed material, and most of all, the AK47 is losing its originality.

    Perhaps, I was too soon to jump the gun. Perhaps, they couldn't keep the original designer and the team...

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