Newspaper Generation - Going from structured text to digitised layout recommendations.

Genscom is a Belgian-based company specialising in the creation of personalised newspapers for businesses, organisations, and individuals. It offers custom communication solutions that allow clients to produce high-quality, personalised newspapers at affordable prices. These newspapers are used for various occasions such as birthdays, weddings, corporate events, and marketing campaigns.

Genscom manages the distribution of personalized newspapers, producing numerous editions with limited print runs. As the contributors are not familiar with newspaper layout, they submit their content via email. This material is then gathered by editors, who compile and design the final editions on a weekly basis.

We created a solution for Genscom that lets users add content directly through the platform, saving their team from the hassle of copying and pasting the content from an email. Users can input their content for the right edition, and we handle article creation based on their preferences. Users can add images and choose how many columns they want, and we recommend the best layout to minimize white space.Our newspaper template includes both flexible and fixed content blocks, which helps keep each edition consistent week after week. After all articles are in, we present Genscom staff with the 10 best layout options. We show how much content is included and how many fillers were used, so staff can pick the layout that looks best. This version is then ready to be printed and sent to clients.

The Genscom Builder & Generator is used daily by many volunteers, automatically producing over 80 newspapers each week. This tool significantly reduces the workload, minimizes repetitive tasks, and boosts productivity.

‍

During our weekly meetings, we focused extensively on usability to ensure that every user could interact with the application effectively. Additionally, we closely monitored the article creation process to ensure it appeared as human-like as possible, for example by considering how and where sentences were broken.