EXAMPLE 237
Ornaments as eye-attracters. An idea that could be adapted to many jobs of printing. Designed by Will Bradley
EXAMPLE 238
Postal-card announcement, the typography of which is attractive, not because of what is put on, but because of what is left off
EXAMPLE 239
Good advertising typography. Type groups and blank space well proportioned, and an interesting decorative spot of color
Example [234].—This announcement page is lettered in a style that suggests the sturdy masculine character of the lettering that has been developed with the new German decorative art. Typographers should not make the mistake of assuming that a page set in the so-called gothic types of the typefounders would give this effect. While the letters are without serifs, as are the gothic types, yet they have not the mechanical perfection of those types. Type-faces, lettering and drawing of any kind seem to be better liked when they possess the human quality of imperfection. I once called on Boardman Robinson, then cartoonist of the New York Tribune, and found him at work on a cartoon for the day. I noticed that he had considerably altered the picture on which he was working, and I asked him about it. With a smile, he stated that he had been working on the cartoon for several hours in order to make it look as if it had been drawn in fifteen minutes. German typefounders have made type-faces that carry the qualities of this poster style of lettering. The young printer should not infer from this that careless and unfinished typographic work is preferable to a careful, finished product. It will be found that the artist or printer who can best give this little touch of human nature to designs is one who first learned to do the work as perfectly as possible.
Example [235].—This design was the first page of a folder of which Example [234] was the third page. Oswald Cooper, who lettered this announcement, used the figure of a dog that had been drawn by the German poster artist Hohlwein, but gave him due credit in the upper left corner. This style of lettering, as has already been mentioned, is appropriate to the subject of German posters and in harmony with the poster illustration used. Heavy treatment of this kind offers a rich opportunity for the use of strong and harmonious colors. Light-faced type is very unsatisfactory as a carrier of color, but the broad strokes of this style of lettering make possible a liberal showing of color on the page. An extra color has been introduced, altho the original announcement was entirely in brown on a brown-tinted card.
Example [236].—From the viewpoints of art and dignity an announcement card such as this one is always in good taste. Its style is classic, being arranged along the lines of an architectural inscription plate. The border is the reliable egg-and-dart pattern and the type-face is Caslon. Capitals are essential to best results in this sort of design.
Example [237].—The idea suggested in this page, of using ornaments as eye-attracters, is a good one. While the design as a whole is decorative in character, the advertising element is not overlooked. The several articles of merchandise are prominently displayed, as is also the name of the store. In the series of type designs of which this was a part, the designer strongly emphasized ornamentation. There was a reason for his doing this, as he was engaged in introducing new typographic decorative material, but printers working for the commercial public are engaged in a different vocation. In attempting such designs as this, compositors should decrease the prominence of the ornaments and border and increase that of the reading portion of the page.