Analysis
I analyzed two sections of advertising:
- A page from the Pennsylvania Gazette, January 2, 1750, and
- The Classifieds section from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sept. 23, 2008
The most noticeable supertextual element for the two documents is the type of paper. The provided image of the Pennsylvania Gazette shows that it was printed on paper just like the newsprint of today. The yellow tint is caused by oxidation over time, and newsprint is more likely to turn yellow than other paper because it is so coarse. Although the AJC paper is currently light-gray in color, it too will turn yellow eventually. You can also notice that both documents are printed on thin paper, as you can see the text from the other side showing through.
The second major supertextual element are the navigational aids which help readers find find what they're looking for. In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sample, the upper right corner has the page's number as well as the date. The Pennsylvania Gazette sample, on the other hand, does not have any page numbering or even a printed date. The AJC also uses headers throughout the advertisements in order to identify different types of ads. They come in two types:
- individual category headers which show just that category name and number, and
- primary category headers, which include a list of sub-categories.
Extratextual elements vary between the two documents, but they also serve an intertextual role in making each document flow. Both use horizontal lines to separate each advertisement. The AJC's category headers are then separated by thicker black lines than those between ads. Primary categories in the AJC are made to "pop out" at the reader by using white text on a black background.
Neither document uses any color, since color printing is minimized by even today's newspapers due to the increased cost. More graphics are actually present in the older Gazette, where a sailing ship drawing accompanies each sailing notification. In the AJC sample, only two graphics are present: a small camera symbol and a symbol of a white triangle on a black circle (similar to a "play" symbol.) The camera symbol indicates ads with pictures online, while the only hint to the triangle-circle's meaning is the small "SM" which indicates a service mark. One final extratextual element to notice is the AJC's use of a thick black border to make a few entries really stand out.
Intratextually, both documents show strong cohesion. They use rigid columns which all content is forced to fit into. This makes formatting much easier, whether it's using a modern computer layout program or setting the type by hand. In addition, the reader can scan quickly down each column to find information they want.
The Pennsylvania Gazette uses an old-style serif font, complete with the f - shaped s's. The AJC Classifieds, on the other hand, use a clean, modern sans-serif font. Both documents use all capital letters in their titles. In the case of the Gazette, the titles are also nearly doubled in font size from the normal text, while the AJC makes titles only slightly larger but also adds bold. It should also be noted that in the Gazette, the first part of each entry is a brief description. The title for the entry is usually somewhere in the middle of this description, based off the descritpion's phase structure. For example. the first entry in the Gazette's sample page has two lines of description in small type, then the the seller's name in large type, and finally the last two lines of the description.
Although the documents are fairly cohesive overall, there columns can hold a wide range of items. The Gazette excerpt includes a jumbled assortment of notices, including goods for sale, public announcements, and ships ready to sail. Likewise, the AJC Classifieds excerpt shows advertisements ranging from dogs for adoption to cars for sale. An important difference here is that while the Gazette's items are arranged based on what best fits the column, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution uses a strict organizational system. In the AJC Classifieds, all items are grouped into categories and then arranged alphabetically within their categories.
Updated Document
Instead of just updating the Gazette's ads to the AJC formatting, I decided to create a mockup for an online adds section. While the AJC has a portion of their website dedicated to the classifieds, it is cluttered and lacks refinement. My mockup uses the concept of modern tabbed websites to organize the existing notices in an easy-to-navigate format. Click the "Revised Doc." link to view the concept design.
Modern Document
Revised Document
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