Semiotics Of Newspaper Posters

The unique selling point of this ad is to show that The Guardian is a mix of opinion and fact, this gives a quick and clear message about the values of the newspaper. The bright colours show the diversity of The Guardian, but also gives it more appeal, as it may attract people who don’t want to read a formal paper. The layout of all the text has been set out so it is easy to read. When looking at a poster people naturally view it from bottom left to top right. Designers usually take advantage of this to make the poster look as good as possible.

The Observer poster keeps the same values as the newspaper. It tries to appear modern and stylish to attract a large readership. The colours and images used are the same as those used the paper this is to create a sense of familiarity for the readers. The unique selling point is that the newspaper contains all the latest news, business, entertainment, sports and more, and that readers shouldn’t MISS A BEAT.

Poster Conventions

Website Article

The council announced last week that road works will occur all over the town in hopes to improve the overall of Harrogate’s roads.

After long and detailed analysis of the road surfaces all over the town and complaints of severe potholes the council has decided that a complete re-surfacing of some areas of road is the best way to improve travel around Harrogate

The work will mainly take place at night when there will be fewer cars. But this still means that roads will be closed, creating traffic problems all over town for an extended period of time and residents who live near main roads will have to deal with high levels of noise during the day and at night.

The council has reassured those affected that the works will be carried out swiftly to avoid excessive public disruption.

The first section of road works will be started in two weeks.

This is a layout draft for the article page. There is a conventional layout for these types of pages, with the headline and publish date at the top, and the body underneath split into seperated paragraphs, this is because the articles on the website are normally shorter and aren't compacted like in a newspaper so the body of text has to be spread out down the page so not to have too much negative text. The body is accompanyed by an image, which is usually the same as the image on the home page.


On this layout I have included a related stories list, these could be current articles or ones written in the past that have been archived. Also a more articles list, which is a mix of News, Sport and entertainment. I have also included more adverts which were created on Paintshop Photo Pro.

News stories would normally be accompanyed by a comment box for readers to leave their thoughts and feelings on the article. This is a live comment box which is fully functional.

This is the first draft of the news page on my website. The main point of this page is to list all the news that is on the website in a clear and organised way. The news pages don't normally include photos, so I haven't included any. I have arranged all the headlines going downwards on the page. This means the reader can read them in order easily on the page. The biggest articles are higlighted with larger headlines, a description and the blue, which is part of the paper's house style. The Other articles are arranged in the same lists as the home page. At this point I haven't added the extra features as I thought the page should only focus on the news stories


This is the news page arranged in a much more attractive way with all the extra features and adverts. This makes the page luck much more full and busy. Plus research showed that features such as the weather are on every webpage. The advert at the bottom of the page is animated. To do this I created four images with the same background but added a line of text to each one. Then inserted them into a slide show and made the time between each slide 1 second. The slide show now spells out BUY OUR CARPETS CARPET DIRECT. I have arranged the articles so that they look like most other local news pages, which the main stories taking priority at the top of the page. Another addition which is common on local news sites are the In this weeks paper and National news sections. So I have put links for these on my pages.

Website Homepage http://harrogatepost.moonfruit.com/

http://harrogatepost.moonfruit.com/

When creating the website I started on Google Sites, which although reliable and professional I decided it wasn't customisable enough and looked too much like a blog, so after researching other website creators I went with www.moonfruit.com which offers free and fully customisable websites.


I started with a simple layout with a banner that same colour as the newspaper with the paper title and slogan. This is so there are obvious connections between the site and paper to create a house style. I have also put in a menu at the top that links to the various pages of the website. After researching websites I have noticed certain conventions of layout. On local newspaper sites. There is one main story with a picture and summary with some smaller articles with a summary underneath. And then lists of other news stories.

This draft demonstrates that an unconventional layout looks unprofessional and unorganised.


Like local newspapers local websites contain lots of adverts so here I have started to add them to the bottom of the page. I have also added some interactive elements. If you click on the photo thumbnails on the right align the photo is enlarged. Each photo is related to a story in the paper or on the site. This is provided by a google gadget which is programmed by a HTML snippet

Here I have added an advertisement for a competition that is also featured in the newspaper, this furthers the reletionship between the two products. I have also created two aspects that are usually found on websites. Using Adobe Illustator I have made a Weather and Local pages applications, these are online versions of newspaper features. On this draft I have also linked the main story to a page featuring the article. This is done by placing a link button where it says CLICK FOR MORE.

Semiotic Analysis of Websites

Websites are often used as an online alternative to newspapers, they sometimes feature the same content, not as much content or exclusive content only found on the website. The harrogate advertiser website has tried to keep a similar look to the newspaper. It does this by using the same conservative blue. In doing this it reassures it's readers by being familiar. The website follows the same values as the newspaper so focuses on the Harrogate community. It does this through the composition of articles, but also through links to other parts of the website. For example the Jobs Today, Property Today etc links show the various opportunities in the community. This is also shown through the number of advertisements for local businesses. The layout for the website is very simple and clear, it is easy to navigate and find what you are looking for. This means readers of all ages can use the website. Each newspaper made by the Ackrill Media group's websites all have the same template, this creates a housestyle and and identity for Ackrill. An upside of a website compared to a newspaper is the amount of content. Because there is infinite space on a website the advertiser have been able to fill the pages with lots of different content. This means they can get a much broader appeal as there is much more of a range of information and it is easier to find.



The idea of the news page is to quickly and clearly show current articles. To do this the page is set out in an organised and clear way. This is done so that everyone can work out how to access the articles. This is especially important for older readers as they often have little experience using the internet. The articles on the news page all have similar news values, they are all showing the community of Harrogate by reporting on such events as the stray bonfire.The articles are a range of online exclusives and articles that are related to stories in the newspaper, these articles have their own section to really highlight the connection between the website and the paper. The page uses the same banner and colours as the rest of the site, this is so a house style is created and the page can easily be reconised as the advertiser.

Website Links

This is the sports page for The Press website. It follows similar conventions to the homepage. The banner at the top of the page is exactly the same as the homepage, except the sports tab is highlighted to show which page you are on. On the left alignment of the page is a range of the latest sports stories, these are all accompanied by a small image and a summary of the article. Underneath each summary is a 'Have your say' link, this allows you to comment on the article in question. Embedded in the page is also a video player that shows premier league football, this is quite unique for a local newspaper site. The rest of the webpage is links to other articles in other sections of the website or more adverts.



This is the NEWS page of the Harrogate Advertiser website. The top banner is the same as the homepage and also contains the same information, but this page has an extra side menu on the left alignment, which has links to the various news sections. These include news from the neighbouring towns and villages who's newspapers are made by Ackrill, sports and leisure. The rest of the page is set out with the main story at the top with the biggest photo and a summary of the article which can be clicked to take you to the full story. The rest of the articles can be found underneath or if you click on the arrows on the next pages. Underneath this it then lists extra stories under headings.




http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/sport/
http://www.harrogateadvertiser.net/harrogatenews

Website Conventions

All local paper website have the same basic conventions (especially if they are made by the same group eg all websites made by the Ackrill media group all follow the same template), they all feature the newspaper banner at the top of the page, this is done with the same colour, font and logo as the newspaper. Next to this is usually a search bar which gives the option to search the website or the whole of the internet. Underneath this will always be the tabs or buttons that link to various sections of the site. They usually vary but there will always be a NEWS link. Others usually link to the other types of news which are human interest, entertainment and sport. The Harrogate advertiser site also has a COMMUNITY link, which gives access to forums, which gives readers a chance to have their say on the news. Also at the top of the page can be links to the jobs, homes, buying selling pages, which are online versions of the adverts usually found inside local papers. A modern inclusion that can be found on The Press website, is the link to the mobile site and RSS feeds, which are up to date ways to view the news. The main part of the home page is taken up by the latest or main headlines, which are accompanyed by photos and a small extract of the story, this encourages people to click and keep reading. There are various other links to the rest of the website, which includes lists to the most popular news, the news in the current newspaper and links to photos and videos. Another eye catching aspect is scrolling images or text, this gives a quick glance at the news, and is alike scrolling news on TV. Just like the newspapers, the local news sites contain an abundance of advertising, most similar to those in the paper but also simple moving .GIF adverts. Other little additions include: subscription pages, competitions that are advertised in the paper and the local weather. Overall these features create an interactive online version of the newspaper that follows the same values as the paper.

http://www.harrogateadvertiser.net/
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/