Stage I
This month's VisoVerbo quote is from Dorothy Parker, famed 20th century writer with a razor-sharp wit and acerbic tongue. We decided to pair her quote with an old-fashioned setting in order to play up the humor. We referred to the typeface sample books of the late 19th/early 20th century, which often featured heavy decorative borders and type making a shape, with no regard for line breaks or sense.

Stage II
We gave Parker's quote a title as if this were the frontispiece of a book or the first in a series of posters. We found just the right border and paired it with Centaur, a full-featured type family designed by Bruce Rogers. As much as we're trying to be inspired by old type specimens, that title is too tight to the border for our taste, and the white space is awkward.