The Art of Show Card Writing (Revised Edition)
A self-study course in hand-lettered show cards, the temporary signs placed in store windows, by the founder and the president of the Detroit School of Lettering, published in Chicago by Frederick J. Drake & Company.
What it is
A self-study course in hand-lettered show cards, the temporary signs placed in store windows, by the founder and the president of the Detroit School of Lettering, published in Chicago by Frederick J. Drake & Company. The preface argues that the card writer is now as necessary to business as the clerk who hands goods over the counter. The book moves from twelve alphabets chosen for speed, through fourteen named brush strokes, pens, colours and tools, to a chapter titled Why Is a Show Card?, which says a card exists to sell and must be read at a glance. Later chapters cover layout, pricing ($1.00 an hour, a 25 cent minimum, 75 cents a full sheet), seasonal decoration, price tickets and stock phrases by department. It ends with 32 plates of alphabets and advertisements for brushes and air brushes.
Why read it now
The selling chapter is the reason to read it. The authors put lettering at about a third of the work and selling force at the other two thirds, and ask for one big word per card with everything else small. That is how shelf talkers, menu boards and roadside ads are judged today: few words, one focal point, a read in seconds. The pricing chapter also holds. Charge enough, because a price is easier to lower than to raise; Kahneman, Knetsch and Thaler's fairness studies found that buyers resent a price rise more than the end of a discount. The 25 cent minimum is the logic of a minimum fee on small jobs. What has dated: hand lettering gave way to print and screens, and the $1.00 hourly rate, the seasonal colours built on northern winters and the pun phrases, most of which would read as filler now, went with it. Use: before a Saudi retail promotion, test every in-store card at three metres for three seconds; if the offer word is not read first, cut words and enlarge it.
Passages worth keeping
The average card writer pays more attention to his technique than he does to his final result or ultimate selling power in his card.
أغلب كتّاب البطاقات يهتمون بجمال الخط أكثر من قدرة البطاقة على البيع، والكتاب يعد هذا الخطأ الأول في المهنة.
That was when we had more time to read and admire. Today we are reading head-lines. The card you make today must be read at a glance.
الناس يقرؤون العناوين فقط، فالبطاقة التي لا تُفهم بنظرة واحدة لم تؤد عملها مهما كانت جميلة.
Always be sure to charge enough. Remember it is easier to come down than to go up.
السعر الأول يصعب رفعه لاحقًا، فابدأ بسعر يكفيك ثم خفّضه عند الحاجة، لا العكس.
Charge for your work and not for material.
قيمة البطاقة في وقت الكاتب ومهارته، أما الورق والألوان فكلفتها صغيرة ولا يُبنى عليها السعر.
Don't write ads over the meaning of which people have to puzzle. It's ad-space wasted.
العبارة التي يحتاج القارئ إلى التفكير لفهمها تضيع مساحة الإعلان، فالوضوح يسبق الطرافة.
The scanned text has OCR errors. The passages are quoted from it, with only obvious slips fixed.
What it teaches best
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