My name is Matthew Callahan
I’m a designer and communicator with nearly ten years of experience leading creative teams alongside evolving technologies at The Washington Post. My background is in print and digital design and my speciality is integrated storytelling: blending and prioritizing the use of visual media and technology to bring stories to audiences in new ways.
Enabling high end storytelling.
The Post has produced more than 400 custom-designed stories around our journalism each year. For the last few years, my charge has been building the underlying digital systems to ensure consistency as well as advising on best practices for storytelling. Most recently, I’ve led a team that created multiple repeatable storytelling formats that enable non-visual journalists to seamlessly create non-traditional stories as well as redefining our newsroom’s workflows for interactive content and pushing for data-informed decisionmaking.
Some projects I’ve edited over the years
After I became an editor in 2018, I got a chance to be a part of dozens of The Post’s most exciting and innovative projects including Pulitzer Prize winning stories, months-long investigations and quick turnaround projects. My role varied: sometimes I worked with the editors and designers to shape the content of the story, other times refined UX cues or optimized load time and performance. My job was to ensure that we overcome any challenges, technical or otherwise, and that the stories published across all platforms.
- Terror on repeat (warning: graphic imagery)
- Database of videos exposes the horrors of war in Ukraine
- Africa’s rising cities: How Africa will become the center of the world’s urban future
- This tree has stood here for 500 years. Will it be sold for $17,500?
- The Afghanistan Papers: A secret history of the war
- Reconstructing seven days of protests in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s death
- The Oscar for Best Poster goes to ...
- Canary: The Washington Post Investigates
Some projects I designed before becoming an editor
When I started at The Post, the design team was print focused. I became a pioneer on the team, building digital stories and helping to lead the team through a digital revolution. At first, I was an art director, digital desinger and a partner to reporters, editors and other designers. I interpreted and built presentations that took advantage of the most unique parts of each story. After three years, I formally moved into a leadership role, where I’ve been ever since. Note that some features may have been lost over the years.
- Why my guitar gently weeps
- A Marine’s convictions
- The inside story of when Run-DMC met Aerosmith and changed music forever
- America’s natural heritage
Some publication design
My career started as a print designer both at The Post and the Tampa Bay Times. While I spend most of my time focused on digital stories now, print design was where I learned the importance of white space, typography and hierachy. Here are some pages that hold up.
