Michael McKenzie

The daily challenge for Mike is to problem solve the broadsheet layout conundrum: we have an unrivalled canvas to display images but only half of P1 displays on the vast majority of news stands so making the best use of that top-half for words and pictures is key to impactful design. A folded front – and large area at that – to fill means each day can be a test. We push him to be bold, and when a story warrants it, think outside the box and really make a statement. Knowing when to go for it or rein it in is essential and Mike shows good editorial judgement.

He produced a striking political front when our First Minister stood down. It was his idea to move the masthead down to give the edition a weighty feel for the day. This was a bold decision as one of the golden rules of newspapers is not to mess around with the masthead but, rules are made to be broken, and it paid off – with daily sales up 7.3%. The Polaroid front to mark the end of Banksy's Glasgow exhibition was a day when we let Mike off the leash – with the only instructions from our MD being to make sure it sat with the original front as a display item. It became a secondary product on Shopify to generate more for the business from the original content. The inside spread that day was also designed to allow readers to easily buy our exclusive set of pictures, framed from the edition - marking the end of the show.

Keeping The Herald clean and ensuring styles are followed across news, opinion, magazine, sport and business is no easy task. Mike is responsible for tweaking styles throughout the year to improve it and keep up with current trends and to ensure every page engages the reader with the quality they expect from our 240 year old paper. He will be looking at a redesign of the paper and its sections over the next few months - and we can't wait to see what he comes up with.