30 iconic Independent front pages: Classic, with a twist

From the first edition in 1986, The Independent and The Independent on Sunday won awards for their design, and the ‘fronts’ have always been an important statement of where we stand. The first edition of 7 October 1986 set the tone. It was clear and fresh, and gave the classic “broadsheet” look a fresh twist, though back then it was more conventional in the news it reported – 30 years ago, uncannily, it was events at the Conservative Conference and the plunging value of the pound that caught the first headline. There followed a number of revolutions: a compact format in 2003, full colour in 2008, and even the red sans-serif masthead of 2011. Something of the original style was recaptured two years later, the twist this time being the vertical masthead, which allowed designers to make best use of the space for photography – an innovation preserved today in The Independent Daily Edition app.