I’ve always been intrigued by word art, from the days of medieval illumination to more recent modern art using visual language as art, right down to simple nerdy ASCII art. However, the folks over at Postertext.com have put a different spin on word art, taking various classic literature books and printing them out on a single sheet, arranged such that words and blank space are adjusted to create images of the very characters and scenes within each book (care to guess the title of the example?). Below you can see an enlarged snippet showing an example of how spacing is arranged, presumably using the 1939 Wizard of Oz characters as the source. I’m not sure how practical it would be trying to bone up on the classics this way, but such a piece strategically place on a wall could certainly be a conversation piece, or engage the more curious among you.
Perfect for book lovers, right now Postertext.com has about 35 items to choose from, be it The Iliad to the more offbeat Linux Kernel (right up your alley, Joel). Poster sizes vary from 20×24″ to 24×36″ depending on the piece chosen and pricing ranges from $27.99 to $34.99. Don’t see one you’d like? Currently the company is focusing on the classics, but interested parties can go to Postertext.com and make a book request here.