Communication | Print | Web | Design | and Beyond
(For some great insights into the value of paper in our culture, check out Domtar’s Paper because… campaign.)
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An interesting print/design item from the gossip world… Levi Johnston’s wedding announcement. You remember Levi – former fiancé of Bristol Palin, father of their son Tripp. Well he recently wed Sunny Oglesby, mother of his second child, Breeze. And while we wish them well in their new marriage, there’s not a lot of hope for their wedding invitation – a textbook lesson in bad design.
Now, I have to admit it’s much easier to be critical than creative. But at the same time, a sound critique is a great tool for identifying and learning from what does NOT work well in print and typography. The Johnston/Ogelsby union unfortunately gives us a great learning tool. Looking more like a page from a type reference book than a formal announcement, I’m counting NINE different fonts on only nine lines! (I don’t know what’s behind the black box used to cover up the contact information, but I’m willing to bet it’s another font.) I’m a little disappointed they didn’t use Comic Sans or Papyrus.
Aside from the font disaster, the first two lines form a sentence fragment; the word “famalies” is misspelled; and I’ve never heard the term “join marriage” used quite that way. Throw in a crazy clip art spree and you’ve got Exhibit A in Typography 101’s course on how not to design. Lesson learned, right? Go easy on the fonts.
Big thanks to Rafi D’Angelo’s awesome blog So Let’s Talk About ______ for showing us this design fail, and of course the source for all things gossipy, TMZ.
Rely on your printer for advice and direction. They should be able to provide you with everything from encouragement and advice to complete design, layout, copywriting, production, multi-purposing and distribution of your marketing outreach. If they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!
