The Sarasota Herald-Tribune may have had a nip and tuck in its recent page trimming, but it gained an intangible avoirdupois.

I wouldn’t call it a face lift exactly … the recent changes weren’t quite that invasive and overhauling. But, it was certainly a nip and tuck (or two) and in addition to trimming the actual size of the paper, they tweaked a number of other format and design aspects of their layout, and I, for one, think the end result is great.

Suddenly, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune is looking sexy … and smart.

(Hmmmm … any chance they do sexy and smart make-overs on forlorn freelance writers too?)

As a newspaper pack rat, I’ve got old copies of the Herald-Trib always hanging around, so yesterday I pulled a couple of old copies out to compare to the new look. I imagine they made a lot more changes than the ones I picked up, but here are a couple of my favorites.

First thing I noticed (inveterate column-reader that I am) is the smaller, tighter — but way cooler — design for the columnists’ photos boxes. Subtle, but an important change. Immediately makes the paper more attractive, more organized, more meaty-looking throughout all the pages.

And look at the Opinion page (okay, I realize I’m focusing on my favorite sections — so sue me — I’m a column-writer!) — the new look on this page features a significantly larger font on the word Opinion and a much smaller block for the SH-T masthead. Small changes that I wouldn’t have expected to deliver such an impact, but I think this page is appreciably more simple and serious and easy on the eye. Exactly what I want in an opinion page.

Undeniably, the paper is — once again — getting smaller. And, previously, I’ve certainly felt, as a reader, the negative impact of some of the cutbacks on content they’ve made over there on Main Street. But this latest round under the scalpel has resulted in one moment of shrinkage where nobody’s getting the short end of a stick.

Overall — overnight — the paper looks and feel imminently more hip, serious, and accessible all at once. It demands to be read — you can find it at www.heraldtribune.com but to check out the new look, pick up a copy on your newsstand now.