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Newspapers tend to spend a lot of time on design and layout of the front page. The front page is the face of a newspaper, and the entry point for the readers. But because the available space on the front page is limited, not all the important or interesting stories make it to page one.

Newspaper web editions too do not have enough space on their home pages for every essential bit of information.
However, there is space on the front or home page for teasers.

Teasers are very brief pieces of either visual or textual information, or more commonly, a combination of both, that is presented on a prime page as a way to inform and excite a reader regarding information ‘buried’ in the inside pages.

Newspapers theorists see teasers as a map to the journey, a map that allows an intelligent navigator of a reader to decide what to read first and how they may pace themselves.

Local research shows that general readership continues to fall, and subscription figures are also heading south.
It is therefore imperative that newspapers do everything graphically possible to attract the attention of readers.

An effectual tool is creating attractive front pages that work like a front window or door of a department store. Much like the display window of a store, teasers need to be short, simple and easy to understand.

Teasers need to be positioned above the fold for easy visibility, yet ensuring that their size, colours and format do not compete with the main news stories elsewhere on the front page.

Similar to a store front window, displaying only one or two items would have the potential of attracting customers to more items inside.

Readers have other things to do with their lives and they hardly have time to read long texts or to comprehend a complicated picture.

How newspaper teasers are designed and laid out depends on the overall design and format of the front page, but the cardinal rule is to ensure that the teasers are attention-grabbing and reader-friendly.

Because the main function of teasers is to lead the readers into the inside pages, most newspapers decide to use the best images in the inside pages to spice up a dull front page.

Teasers are defined as the ‘best of the rest’ that briefly present information beyond the news chosen for front page stories, and this gives the reader options, in case the main news of the day is not to their liking.

But not every inside story deserves to get a front page teaser.

If, for example news of a UEFA Champions league match played late on Wednesday night makes the inside pages of the Friday edition, placing a teaser about it on the front page hardly adds any value, as just about every soccer fan would have heard about it on the internet, on satellite television or on the radio.

Uniqueness in developing teasers is vital.
Finding something in the inside pages of a paper that is unlikely to be in other newspapers would be a distinct advantage.

What would be the point of teasing readers with the main sport result on a Monday morning when history shows clearly that every daily newspaper will most likely use the same teaser?

If, in a week, half the teasers in a daily newspaper tell the same story that the competition presents, then there is an apparent lack of creativity.

Unfortunately, teasers are usually the last part of newspaper productions, almost an afterthought, yet they are among the premium elements of the first page.

The images that are used as part of teasers have to be carefully selected.

Poor teaser images are a waste of space as they may go unnoticed.

The worst photographs for teasers are static black and white mug shots that fail to draw the reader’s attention as they are usually pictures of people that readers may not recognise.

Conceptual photographs, images that have links with the emotional value and aesthetic appeal of the news story are the most appropriate.

Using a picture of a smiling subject to announce their death on a teaser may be in bad taste.

A good example of a conceptual image would be, when presenting the news that a sports coach had been dismissed from their job, publishing a picture of the subject waving a hand or looking at the watch.

Teaser photographs that do not offer links to the overall meaning of the news are irrelevant and should not be used.

The harsh reality today is that traditional newspapers have to compete for attention with all sorts of digital platforms.

Zimbabwe’s news consumers have a wide array of news platform options.

For only one dollar, one can buy an hour or more of surfing time in any local internet café.

Readers are therefore exposed to international news presentations and comparisons with local design and layouts are inevitable.

Teaser photographs should be treated like logo designs – every element within their composition have to contribute towards meaning and context.

Depatching, isolating a figure by eliminating the background and other unwanted elements gives a teaser photograph more relevance.

Some Zimbabwean newspapers shortchange their readers when telling them about how one soccer player inspired a win by presenting a full image with the subject surrounded by grass, the crowd, the referee, other players and even clouds hovering above.

Of all these elements, the only indispensible imagery is that of the star player himself.
A clutter of elements is not only irrelevant, but also distracts from the actual connotation of the image.