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This is driving me up the wall: why do people use pull quotes in this manner? What does it accomplish, besides tricking me into thinking that I'm accidentally r
by wallacoloo 10y ago
This is driving me up the wall: why do people use pull quotes in this manner? What does it accomplish, besides tricking me into thinking that I'm accidentally re-reading the paragraph I just read, and thereby interrupting the flow of the article?
Pull quotes are a technique designed for print! You use them in magazines that have tens of articles and you want to grab the attention of somebody browsing the articles so that they read yours. But here on the web, I'm already reading your article! There's nothing else on the page - you already have my attention.
Just look at the way this article ends:
This unending hamster wheel of capitalism and technology is driving us all to the brink of insanity. “These days, everyone needs a side hustle.” Now that I think about it, that should be Elizabeth Warren’s campaign slogan in 2020.
“These days, everyone needs a side hustle.” Now that I think about it, that should be Elizabeth Warren’s campaign slogan in 2020.
Why not just say that last part once? Literally JUST present it in the fancy pull-quote "this is important" format, instead of once as normal text and immediately again as fancy text. Why are you having me read this twice?
- anonred 10y agoMy guess is that it's designed to provide visual landmarks for (most) people who skim articles.
- wallacoloo 10y agoI don't deny that stylizing text like this can be useful for people who skim. My proposal doesn't prevent that: only present those select bits of information in the big front-and-center style that grabs people's attention, and don't repeat them in the normal flow of text.