In August of 2010, word came down to the offices of the Press-Republican from our parent company, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., that all newspapers would be getting an across-the-board restructuring of their classifieds sections. In short, the old class codes were changing, for all kinds of listings from Free Pets to Real Estate to Novenas. It seemed as good a time as any to give our pages a shot in the arm with 1000cc's of modernity.
Before and After: The Classified Connection Logo
The "before" logo on the top had been used for as long as I could remember - an extremely useful graphic to be sure - it's great when you're tight on column inches but still need an identifier. It served the paper well, but had begun showing its age a long time ago. I had designed the update a while back to begin "creeping in" elements of an updated identity. Now that I had the green light for the full-scale redesign, I had a foundation laid for everything else: fresh, clean and modern.
Before and After: The Directories (click for larger view)
Left to right: Old & New three, four, and six column directories
A lack of visual coherence is evident in the old directories; the metallic border from the 3-column directory is not seen in the other versions, and the while all the information in the six-column directory fits well, it winds up looking cramped in the four-column version. In all three, graphics are placed at the beginning of each category, but are too small to be effective and somewhat distracting.The jittering alarm clock graphic above the deadlines in the four and six-column treatments are a bit too casual for a serious daily.
In the redesign, each version is humanized by stock photography of a diverse group of newspaper readers. A heading in Caslon relates to the specific function of each directory; for instance, the four-column directory headed
Helping You Get The Most From Your Classified Ads! lists information about how to word a listing effectively, along with deadline and rate information. The three and six-column versions do not include this information to keep the layout from getting cramped. The three rotate out on a regular basis, and all include contact information to our Classified Department.
Before and After: The Category Headers & Service Directory (click for larger view)
Along with the new categories, new header graphics were designed as well. Each category appears in a uniform space of a 1 column wide, .5" deep rounded rectangle, instead of the previous graphic, whose size varied according to the amount of text in the category name. The classified sections also features listings for service-industry professionals, however, instead of appearing as part of the normal flow of line ads, a specific block is reserved with a special heading that packages the whole more neatly and catches the eye more easily.
