This article is the first edition of the Advent of Patterns series. In this series, running from December 1st to December 24th 2024, I will document one design or programming pattern I have noticed recently. Read the introduction to the series to learn more about the series.
The Guardian adds a “This article is more than” box in yellow to the top of articles older than a certain time. This box indicates how long ago an article was published. This feature provides readers with an important piece of context. If a reader sees the box, it means they are reading something that was not published recently.
For example, the “‘I love the whole atmosphere and can spend hours browsing’: how did bookshops suddenly become cool?” has a box that says “This article is more than 1 month old” at the top, as the article was published in October 2024 and I am reading it over a month later.
Here is what the feature looks like:
Of note, this appears in addition to the publication date. The article publication date appears in more subtle text on the left side of the page.
The prominence and colour of the box both serve to call attention to its contents. The bold text “1 month old”, or whatever time is present in the box, calls further attention to the amount of time passed since the article was published.
I think this pattern is especially useful for online journalism.
Adding a box that calls out when an article is older reduces the potential confusion associated with a reader finding an old article and missing the publishing date before reading further. Since the date on which an article was published is an essential piece of context for understanding a piece of journalism, adding additional emphasis when an article is older is useful.
