Good communications can be found everywhere, sometimes in unusual places…
Every so often, in the middle of a formal report or legal document, perhaps randomly in an instruction manual or exam paper, you’ll stumble upon it, that blank page marooned in the middle of densely typed, formal instructions that states, ‘This page intentionally left blank’. It never fails to make me smile. Even under exam conditions.?
When you first come across it, it strikes you as seemingly pointless and patently untrue - the page is not blank. There’s a message on it. ?Five words, set out on a blank page, blankly stating that the page on which it sits is blank. It’s so contrary, it could be a philosophical debate.
Obviously this page serves a purpose, acting as a placeholder or deliberate space-filler to separate content or to point out a?printing?error where a missing page could have damaging repercussions. It’s there deliberately for the avoidance of doubt and for this purpose it does a great job.?It literally stops you in your tracks. I’m not saying it’s up there with “Does what it says on the tin”, a quiet haiku or this short story in six words attributed to Hemingway; "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." But it does make its point quickly and effectively. ?
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Design-wise (which it never wittingly was), the stark, bold, black font offset by endless white space blurts its message and brings you up sharp. Look at the way the sentence jumps off the page at you! Trumpeting its simple purpose! ?It forces you to stop what you’re doing for a split second and take note before you turn the page and return to the job in hand.
The best way of communicating is in the simplest language. If you’re going to write something, write it as precisely and concisely as you can, using space to give your words room to be seen, taken on board, processed by the reader and understood. Use design to make the reader pause. ?Don’t be afraid to blatantly demand attention, or to spell out a simple message that might otherwise seem glaringly obvious, especially if it’s important.