Typophile - You've been cited by the Design Police! - Comments

The surest way to kill a

dtw — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 03:16:46 -0800

The surest way to kill a joke is to analyse it, I suppose.

Still, I work in production, not design, and I get to look at author manuscripts and then (fingers crossed) improved typeset copy all day (and just occasionally I’m able to nudge dodgy usage in a better direction, as in “please do not break ‘analysis’ after the ‘l’” or “please do not add hyphens to this URL at a line break”), and I got a chuckle from this & forwarded it to my colleagues. Of course we wouldn’t dream of actually using it, but the fun is in imagining using it: and therefore the supposition is that there’s such a lot of poor or non-existent kerning about that you’d need a lot of stickers for that. (Hey, it got my boss to look up ‘kern’!)

Ever since I chose to block pop-ups, my toaster’s stopped working.

I’m afraid my command of

Celeste — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:48:45 -0800

I’m afraid my command of written English fails me here : in my opinion, these so-called stickers are obviously not meant to be used at all, even for fun. The joke (of Monty Pythonesque proportion, I would dare to say) here is the SUPPOSITION that they simply COULD exist — and that there would be morons to use them. Not a sane mind would even THINK about using them — so they are a way to poke fun at typographic ayatollahs, which implies a healthy dose of caricature (hence the multiple “Kern this!” provided on this FICTITIOUS “toolbox”).
I’m a teacher myself and I wouldn’t use this stuff on my students’ work — but, as already told, I shared the joke with them and they did find the whole thing ludicrous AND funny.

David, I think that

Eben Sorkin — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:09:19 -0800

David, I think that Stéphane’s point is that finding objectionable kerning will happen more often as you look over designs than the others so it’s natural that there should be more of them and that you would locate them on a page together. Not as you have it that you would either use ( or shout ) kern this repeatedly one after another.... Still, as you have no doubt deduced I could not condone use except among consenting adults.

I would comment on this but

dezcom — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:30:04 -0800

I would comment on this but then that would be an ode on a Grecian kern :-)

ChrisL

““Kern This!” is

dberlow — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:51:41 -0800

““Kern This!” is precisely the kind of comment a tight-sphinctered typographer would make AGAIN AND AGAIN”

Perhaps a tight-sphinctered typographer who’s already inserted his head up the anatomy in question would repeatedly shout, “Kern this!”, and think it was funny, over , and over, again... But, the tight-sphinctered typographer with his head bent on typographic improvement says, “Kern this 2 units tighter”, or “Kern this 2 units looser”, sticker, or not. See the difference? Really, I’m not trying to strenghten your point for the time when it’ll be an easier insertion for you. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and repeatedly shout, just the “Kern this!” sticker, at a bunch of student projects. My guess is, they won’t even laugh a little, the first time. :-o

Cheers!

“In the repeating row of

Celeste — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:43:50 -0800

“In the repeating row of “Kern This!” stickers, is the first “Kern This!” sticker more or less ’funny/educational’ than the eighth, “Kern This!” sticker? If one were not supposed use them, then one would need but one of each, Sherlock.”
Sorry, Mr Berlow, but I disagree with you again on this one — I think the repetition of certain instructions is definitely part of the joke : “Kern This!” is precisely the kind of comment a tight-sphinctered typographer would make AGAIN AND AGAIN (we are all a bit obsessed by that, aren’t we ?).
I tend to think you’re strenghtening my point, here.

“I can play all the

dberlow — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:17:21 -0800

“I can play all the ultraviolent video games I want...”
You sure can. But you can’t drag me in and shoot at me without my cooperation now, or can you?

“I don’t think these stickers are meant to be used at all by anyone, really.”
Really!? In the repeating row of “Kern This!” stickers, is the first “Kern This!” sticker more or less ’funny/educational’ than the eighth, “Kern This!” sticker? If one were not supposed use them, then one would need but one of each, Sherlock.

“I take them for a shot at precisely the people who are all too often prone to dogmatic tight-sphinctered comments about other people’s work,”
...then print the definition and remedy for each boo-boo on the back of the sticker, or somewhere in site. I’m sorry, I don’t need help to draw a line between ’Let it BE’, and ’Let it B.S.’ But I’ll try to do better ;)

Cheers!

Celeste speaks volumes. I

Miss Tiffany — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 10:02:52 -0800

Celeste speaks volumes. I agree.

I’m wondering how many

Celeste — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 03:22:20 -0800

I’m wondering how many commentators here are actually missing the point of the joke : I don’t think these stickers are meant to be used at all by anyone, really. I take them for a shot at precisely the people who are all too often prone to dogmatic tight-sphinctered comments about other people’s work, as if to say “Now if you are so smart, and so wise, and obsessive enough to try to eradicate all typographic errors in the world, here are the tools to do it. Bet you are pretentious enough to use them, you jerk !”

Let’s maybe ask some

Eben Sorkin — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:38:04 -0800

Let’s maybe ask some people who know me, I might misjudge myself completely.

Yves, Point nicely and subtly made.

David, You are not really accusing David of being a “typographic totalitarian”. You are, I think, just using a rhetorical question to put your point across.

> What point? the part where

Bald Condensed — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:15:13 -0800

> What point? the part where the stickers are used by people without your sensitivity and compassion? or the part where these other people use the stickers, anonymously and without corrective education to go along with the stickers? Or when the stickers are used to criticize non-typographic, in some cases non-design issues?

Point made, I agree. But I really don’t think it’s the stickers that are going to have people cross over to the Dark Side. I can play all the ultraviolent video games I want (which I don’t, incidentally, just for the sake of the argument) and I still won’t buy a gun and start shooting people in the streets. But you are right.

> That leaves the bullets...many of which, in this silly case, are not even targeted at the graphic design, are they now...
Again, point made, but with the same reservations as above.

> Or are you one of those typographic totalitarians who don’t believe in design police police?
I believe in policing the police as a general concept, so I can’t bring anything against that, but I think I’m hardly a “typographic totalitarian”. Let’s maybe ask some people who know me, I might misjudge myself completely. :D

“To set the record

dberlow — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:14:12 -0800

“To set the record straight, I lured them out. :^P”
...and it was a very nice interview. But that’s not the ’publicity’ I’m talking about, as they were way out before you lured them.

”...making people feel good about other people’s bad design”, I really don’t get your point.”
What point? the part where the stickers are used by people without your sensitivity and compassion? or the part where these other people use the stickers, anonymously and without corrective education to go along with the stickers? Or when the stickers are used to criticize non-typographic, in some cases non-design issues?

“Why always assume the worst?” Because in the best case the stickers are never used, leading to great-looking white space. Really, totally brilliant white space.

“Please don’t shoot the messenger; the Design Police are merely commenting on the state of a lot of current graphic design. I don’t believe them to be inherently evil.”
I don’t believe them to be inherently evil either. I’m not shooting the messenger, the messenger’s messenger or the messenger’s gun. That leaves the bullets...many of which, in this silly case, are not even targeted at the graphic design, are they now...

“Humor is a healthy way to deal with these feelings.” LOL. There you go. I, “poke fun [] at something that irks us”, therefore, I am. Or are you one of those typographic totalitarians who don’t believe in design police police? ;)

Cheers!

Seems like a lot of work

Eben Sorkin — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:48:42 -0800

Seems like a lot of work

Yes, and there is a reason to specialize - to make sure that somebody really has the skills needed and so that there is a clear accountability. “Word Police”? More like “Word militia” or “word Gang”. In the words of Nero Wolfe: Phoooey!

But Will I spell like an Art

fontplayer — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:32:22 -0800

But Will I spell like an Art Director having me proof read is a terrible waste of the clients time and money. Its about your resources in the best most efficient manor. If I was an auto mechanic I wouldn’t do the plumbing in my house. The Plumber would do a better job quicker.

Insert comma after Will, period after Director. Capitalize the H in have. Apostrophe in “clients” and in “Its”. Seems like a word is missing before “your resources”...manor/Manner?... (point taken)
; )

You are all hereby deputized into the “Word Police” force. Go forth and do good work.

I don’t know. Seems like a lot of work.

I agree with Yves — I

Celeste — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:38:46 -0800

I agree with Yves — I printed it myself and pasted it on a door in my classroom for my students to see, and we all had a good CONSTRUCTIVE laugh. I write “constructive” because it has reminded them of all the little things (inch glyphs used as apostrophes, faux italic, etc.) I keep bugging them with every week, and they realised I’m just not the only nitpicker out there. So they agreed to let it pasted on the door as some kind of ironic “check-list” to look at before spending the school’s budget in useless (and premature) printouts.
And I love the “fire extinguisher” look, with this awful lot of white Helvetica on red background.

You've been cited by the Design Police!

glyphobet — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:09:34 -0800

These stickers for labeling common typographical errors are brilliant. I wish I’d thought of them.
http://design-police.org/

-matt

P.S. Apologies if this has been posted before. My searches didn’t find anything, but similar attempts have failed in the past.