24 November 2005

The Creature From The CMYK Lagoon

Most professions probably have their own jokes. Plumbers might have one that begins "Did you hear the one about the reverse-thread metric pipe cutter... ?" or something like that - humour that's funny if you're familiar with the obscure codes and manners of a particular profession. The cartoon strip "Dilbert" for example, is especially funny if you've ever worked in an office.

The fact that "Dilbert" is reprinted on everything from T-shirts to desk calendars means that a) a lot people work in offices, and b) the humour is pretty much universal.

Because millions of people now practice desktop publishing, however badly, millions now understand what kerning is, and what you're talking about when you refer to point size. Well, here is some graphic designer's and printer's humour and I reckon they're great.







I came across these at Frederick Samuel and The Hidden Persuader.

They were apparently created by Saatchi & Saatchi, New York.

2 comments:

I am the Queen of EVERYTHNG...OK!! said...

OK I DON'T get it..but hey its ok

Crritic! said...

I warned you! If you have to explain a joke, then it's already failed, but CMYK refers to Cyan Magenta Yellow and a rating for Black. They are the 'process colours' printers use in all printed material to make a full colour image.

So the Red in 'Red Riding Hood' to a printer is really Cyan 5, Magenta 90, Yellow 100 and Black 0. Hence 'Little C:5 M:90 Y:100 K:0 Riding Hood'.

Ta-daaaa!