Words or Pictures


You either say this (word), or you show this (picture), but you don’t (show both word and picture), because this is treating your audience like a moron, and they deserve better. – Chip Kidd


In his TED talk, Chip Kidd shows us how fascinating designing a book cover really is. A book’s cover is important because first impressions are important, and because they give a visual to the story the book contains.

Since watching his talk a couple weeks ago, I’ve been thinking about the above quote. Often in our graphic designs and slide presentations, I wonder whether we underestimate the intelligence of our audience by overlapping words and pictures, audio and video. I wonder whether, if we consider our audience smarter, they would rise to the challenge.


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