Studio Feixen redesigns Switzerland newspaper 20 Minuten for one day, to a mixed response

Swiss graphic design outfit Studio Feixen redesigned the most-read daily newspaper in Switzerland, 20 Minuten, for just one day as part of a collaboration with Samsung. The studio worked with Swiss ad agency Jung von Matt, which ran the campaign to promote the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8 in Switzerland and – instead of regular ads – pitched a one-off “design” edition of the commuter paper.

Layouts are overlaid with brightly coloured graphics, such as brushstrokes and dots, mimicking the swipe or tap of a thumb on a phone screen, and lava-lamp-like globules, that bring new energy to the pages. The studio was given complete freedom to customise the paper, and the designers’ dynamic identity comes through in the visuals and their accompanying articles, from vibrant highlights to red, angry scribbles.

The paper was published Friday 28 April to a mixed response, with some readers commenting on social media that elements of the design made the text difficult to read. 20 Minuten later responded on Facebook, apologising for putting readers through an “admittedly hard test”. “This design issue is an experiment as to how far the interplay between form and content can go. An experiment we will surely not repeat”.

Chief editor Marco Boselli explains in a short film about the project this is the first time the newspaper has revamped its whole layout for a one-off run, so “we wanted to create an iconic edition.. but it had major challenges”.