Practical Research: A Smile In The Mind

Written by Beryl McAlhone and David Stuart, A Smile In The Mind explores witty thinking in graphic design. The book makes the case for wit, seeing humour as the shortest distance between two people. The routes designers can take are examined in a section of different types of wit: ambiguity, missing links, substitution, and double takes. The novel then sees these theories in context: posters, packaging, etc.

The Dorothy Parkers of the visual world: purloining an existing phrase to say what they want to say. The message resides in the unexpected twist.

Jack Summerford's Helvetica in Garamond T-Shirt - a classic example of structural wit. The familiar idea is that Helvetica is the holy of holies for designers. The play is to portray the the standard-bearer of modernism using old-fashioned garamond. To be able to recognise wit in graphics, look for 'the play' on 'the familiar'. The familiar is often a well known phrase or proverb, a visual cliche, genre or graphic icon. The play is the acrobatic type of thinking - the somersault, a reversal, a side-ways jump, where the outcome is unexpected.

The familiar and the play are responsible for the two emotions felt when someone 'gets' the witty idea: recognition and surprise. These two elements together produce a matrix of success. If the design is low on the play and hence low on surprise, the solution will be too obvious and weak. If the design is low on the familiar and hence recognition, then it will be baffling, enigmatic, and impenetrable - prompting a feeling of failure. If the design is low on both - it is a complete fail.

This technique of recognition and surprise is so successful because it pleases people in numerous ways. First of all it wins over the viewers time. It intrigues, seduces into making a commitment. It is interactive, invites participation. Furthermore, it then gives the pleasure of decoding, and hence, a rewarding feeling, Next, amusement. Most wit prompts an explicit or implicit smile. Then, it gets under the guard - humour gives confidence and the right frame of mind towards an idea or product. Consequently this forms a bond through shared understanding. Finally, it leaves a trace - wit is memorable.


Ambiguity 

A form of two-in-one design that works like an optical illusion. The image is not half one idea, half another. Both ideas are complete and autonomous, and the mind flip-flops between the two. The artistry is in the synchronicity, as each detail in the design fits both readings.

One example of ambiguity in design is Noma Bar's book cover designs for two of Margaret Atwood's novels The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments. In terms of the cover for The Testaments, Bar’s brief from the publisher was to create a contrasting image of the two sisters seen on the front and back covers, playing up to the fact that they are in wholly different situations, locations and circumstances. While the front cover bears a generic resemblance to his design for The Handmaid’s Tale cover, featuring the handmaids’ distinctive cloak and bonnet, the back cover depicts a girl that would be recognisable to most of us today, wearing earrings and her hair tied up.

Bar says: “The main thing I wanted to do was to show the parallel worlds and lives of the two girls by reflecting and mirroring the sisters,” says Bar. “We chose the design as a double cover as I wanted to highlight the two characters’ presence – it’s not about one sister, it’s about two worlds.”

Substitution 

One element playfully swapped with another. Success depends on introducing a rogue element that is visually similar but remote in meaning and relevant message. This fusion of two normally incompatible component produces the characteristic response to wit - recognition and surprise. For example, substitution has been used in Oliver Munday's cover design for The Assault by Henry Mulisch. The head reduced down to a simple shape, but all importantly still recognisable. The bike, flipped upside down and put in place of eyes - the witty surprise.  Even better, the design enforces the plot as the main character is assassinated as he rides home on his bicycle.