24 December 2010

[design] Words As Emphatic Punctuation

2553.
The Wife™ spotted this lovely ad latterly:



Look at the title and squint a little.

Squinting is a very useful tool in your visual arsenal, by the by. If you're seeing what I'm trying to get you to see, you'll understand exactly why.

The designer, in a very deft touch, has pressed the words THE MUSICAL into double-service. not only is it tucked in very efficiently, it makes the impression that it's an exclaimation point. It's not merely BILLY ELLIOT!, nor is it merely BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL, it's jointly and severally BILLY ELLIOT! THE MUSICAL, and this is done without using an actual exclamation point at all.

You register this even if you don't see it. You, yourself, might not be much a designer, but your subconscious eye catches all, and deep down inside you register that maybe this is something energetic and exciting.

This is called painting with type, mah peoples. This is what the man meant when he said that.

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