Shouting in prints via ALL CAPS
What would you feel when someone shouted at you? Of course, you
would get angry. It makes you feel like burning all over and
your blood boiling when you hear someone yelling at you. Nobody
wants to be shouted at, may it be in person or on the telephone.
If you are thinking that you cannot be shouted at in printing,
you think wrong. Printing does not stop people from shouting.
They do it in web pages, e-mails and even printed materials like
brochures and pamphlets. How do they do this? ALL CAPS!
All caps is already being overused to get the attention of
people to what you are saying. If you put it into perspective,
this basically amounts to someone shouting at you, in prints.
Before the computer came into existence, the typewriter was the
one source of printing tool. In typewriting, it is common to see
words in all caps as they serve as the words with heavy
emphasis. Titles are most commonly seen in this state. As with
other important subtitles and headings. With the computer, this
method of all caps has been changed to highlights, change in
colors and making them bold. These styles of emphasizing words
in writing certainly is much better than those in all caps.
According to studies, it is more difficult to read words that
are put in all caps than those in the uppercases and lowercases.
This is attributed to the fact that people tend to look and read
words not only by their letters but also by their shapes and
their patterns. In all caps, the shape is all the same, no ups
and downs. Therefore, the association is more difficult compared
with those in small letters. All the shape and height are the
same. The tendency in reading all caps is to read them letter by
letter, thus slowing the reading process and taking some time
for figuring out the word that are formed with the letters.
In printing, all caps take a lot of time typing and there are
more chances of errors being committed. Even designers find it
hard to go through their designs using the letters in all caps.
The probability that they would surely convert it into lowercase
letters is more likely as this would make their work easier.
The idea of all caps as a tool for shouting in printing might
have sprung from its tendency to express more emphasis and
stress. It also goes on to prove the connection that people have
with these letters. They do not get to encounter much all caps
in their printing and designs.
So the next time someone wrote to you in ALL CAPS, ask them WHY
ARE THEY SHOUTING AT YOU, in ALL CAPS, of course.
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