Text Treatments as Design Clichés

When the average Graphic Artist or Graphic Design Student hear the phrase ‘Design Clichés’, they immediately think of ‘Symbols‘. But every symbol is not necessarily a cliché, neither is every Design Cliché unacceptable.

I love to use symbols in my designs because, in my view, nothing anchors a specific concept in a design better than a symbol. I know that some of them have been used so much and with so little ingenuity or artistic flair that they have becomed absolutely undesirable. But one can still find a way to bring new life to them.

However, what I want to warn you against here, is a bit different. It is this ridiculous persistence of certain Text Treatments in every form of Visual Media during a certain period. I mean, when everyone and their computer-owning grandmother is using a certain artifice, it becomes cheap very quickly.

The one I absolutely cannot stand is Grunge Text. Specially when some kind of ‘Sponge Brush’ is applied to blur the edges of the letters. It’s fine for one single piece of artwork. But, everybody? Come on! This is 2009, and this garbage is everywhere in the United States!  On TV Commercials, Program Titles, Magazines Ads and Titles, Movie Titles (Movie Posters, DVD Covers), T-Shirts, etc. There is no escaping this grunge trash.

This is puke-inducing indeed. Every time one of those so-called Graphic Designers is doing some artwork involving the use of text, he has to grunge it. No!  I will not sacrifice simplicity (to me, that’s is the definition of ’sheer beauty’) in the name of innovation. There is nothing more elegant than clean and sharp letters. Nothing! Specially if it is a Classic Typeface.

Please, stop using this sickening design trick. It is been used enough already. Try something else. Every Graphic program offers tons of Textures, Brushes, Canvas, Backgrounds, etc. There are millions of Graphic Design Tutorials online. Go ahead, take your pick.

Try a few different text treatments, who knows? your client might like it. At least, I will not be forced to shoot my TV and rip almost every page of my favorite magazines or newspapers. Save me from drowning in this ocean of ‘grunginess’…