The quote technique you're referring to is called a pull-quote, and they have been around for decades. They may have seen a resurgence on the web recently, I co

The quote technique you're referring to is called a pull-quote, and they have been around for decades. They may have seen a resurgence on the web recently, I couldn't say, but they've been used in magazines as far as I can remember. Like any typographic technique, they can be used poorly, but I thought their use was quite tasteful in this article. They take for granted the fat that many people skim and they help draw attention to key quotes or ideas; I think that's reasonable. I didn't get the sense of "asymmetricality", but to each their own, I guess. In any case, it felt like an improvement over most news sites and blogs.