This front spread for the NY Times: Living section was my experiment in newspaper layout.
I believe (as many designers do ) that the aesthetics of newspaper layouts can be improved greatly without losing the hierarchy of information and without alienating readers. Inspired by Swiss grid systems and the Chinese practice of Feng Shui, I have modified the NY Times grid so your eye may scan the entire page quickly while presenting a lot of content.
The cover of any publication allows the most visual flexibility, as part of its goal is to draw the viewer in. For this reason, I created pockets of negative space allowing the eye to "breath" as it moves around the page. I anchored the cover by placing a large and stylized index in the lower center of the spread.