The New York Times uses a distinctive type of portrait that is not a photo, rather it is called a “dot-drawing”. This style originated in 1974 and was created by a freelancer named Maurice Sendak.
It is designed to be interactive and combines the best aspects of cartoons, illustrations, and photography. The main reason for using this style is because it illustrates the story with more expression from the artist. The drawings are a strong presence in the story and not just another piece of information.
Do you know which newspaper features distinctive portraits called “dot-drawings” instead of actual photos?
The newspaper is known for utilizing this strategy throughout all different types of stories and has been used for over forty years. The pieces feature various styles of people, buildings, and objects in different types of settings and each image has an abstraction that is extremely detailed.
In order to achieve this look, the “dot-drawing” style is created in four colors: black, red, green, and yellow. This color scheme was developed because when printed by ink it brings out strong contrasts for the reader that are similar to how a black-and-white photo would be printed.
Here some points are discussed-
1. Expression:
The main goal of these styling is to express the life of the story and make it more lively. For example, the June 1st issue of The New York Times carried a story on living in Japan that had a “dot-drawing” portrait.
2. Color Scheme:
The limitations of the red, green, black, and then yellow are used in different ways on various subjects to achieve various effects. For example, the September 21st issue of The New York Times had a story about Montana and a “dot-drawing” portrait was used that took advantage of these four colors.
3. Protagonists:
The protagonists of these pieces are all people because they are not actual photos; they instead feature the life of people in a vivid way which is accomplished through color and abstraction. Here the “dot-drawing” portraits are known to be a strong representation of the story being told.
4. Time:
The “dot-drawing” style is only used in certain sections of The New York Times and is used in every issue at random. All of these pieces were created by several different illustrators so each one can seem unique to the reader.
The use of this style was most popular during the 1970s and 1980s but it is still being used today. The reason this style is so popular is because it doesn’t limit the artist and they are not confined to a photo.
5. Places:
The “dot-drawings” are used most in the weekly book review issue on Sunday because it is more of a literary publication and not as many photos are needed. The other main section where the “dot-drawings” are used is in Real Estate because they are more effective at depicting the materialistic world we live in.
6. Settings:
All of these pieces reflect what they are talking about, so they typically use bright colors which represent joy and excitement while other times they use duller colors to represent more serious stories. The “dot-drawing” portraits can be used in various stories but they are only used in certain sections of The New York Times.
7. Portrayal:
This style of illustration isn’t always realistic and the artist has a lot of freedom to portray different characters in different ways. Some artists show people with very elaborate outfits while others focus on the human form. The “dot-drawings” show people much more than they do buildings or other objects and they aren’t limited to just one person either; several people can be portrayed at once.
8. Articles:
These styles are used to bring out the most important part of the story being told. They are used in cases when artists can bring more meaning or feeling to the story because they can express themselves better. They are also used when the pictures cannot be taken due to lack of time and resources so a picture is impossible.
9. Articles Titles:
The “dot-drawings” are extremely important to The New York Times and is one of their most prized possessions, so they always want them to be more prominent than regular photos.
10. Impact:
The images used in The New York Times are very effective because they tell a lot of the story and they are interesting to look at. The abstract nature of the pieces makes them even more appealing to readers and they enjoy the mystery they leave behind because it forces readers to think about what is being shown.
