I was surprised by some very odd typographic choices in Tufte’s new book. Halfway through, he explains: “Systematic regularity of text paragraphs is universally inconvenient for readers… Idiosyncratic paragraphs assist memory and retrieval” A fascinating idea—I’m not sure!
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I was wondering about the same thing! Sometimes it serves the content, what he calls “content driven” but sometimes it seems just sloppy.
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Yes, I had the same feeling of uneasiness. Am I just missing the idea? Who am I to question the master?? :)
I think he’s on to something. Again, as with some previous ideas he may need to loudly react to make the point?
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I suspect the effect is real (like walking in a forest and arriving to a big stone where the form is noticeable). Now, if you apply variations to *every* paragraph, are you not making everything fade into the background again?
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Memorably ugly AF?
I think I might agree with his point in general but maybe it hasn’t been executed well enough yet?
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Thinking about this more: film cinematography is an extra layer of communication. It isn’t necessarily used for memorability, but certain shots are memorable. It is also entangled to the content— it is content.
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Believing that Tufte is ‘The Master’ is nonsense. He's only well known; just because he says something doesn't mean it's correct.