Ellipses Points

The Multiple measures 110mm x 160mm and is a folded card display case for 143 self-adhesive
black dots, packaged in a clear vinyl wallet.
Ellipses Points... was produced in a limited edition of 7.

This Multiple was a response to the written hyperbole of many advertisements from the 1950s.
The typographic convention of using three dots to cut sentences short appears so frequently as
to loose all impact...the fracturing of phrases...implies hurried speech...and desperate enthusiasm...

This can be seen in action in this Camel Advertisement from 1950 I've circled the excessive use of ellipses points - 8 in all.

Even the notion that something else continues to happen after the words trail away.

A technique familiar in vintage romantic fiction, dot, dot, dot.

As can be seen from the working visuals, many instructional books for the writers of copy
encouraged the use of a melodramatic writing style. The intention of Ellipses Points... was to
produce a pack of dots that could be scattered liberally over ordinary prose to transform it into
advertising jargon. The three dots (better known as Ellipses Points) are provided in black here,
but it is suggested they are available in assorted colours to suit any page.

I intended that the proliferation of ellipses points through this sort of imaginary multiple would
further isolate ridiculous tendencies in advertising copy and the make the device more obvious
to the consuming public.

Sketchbook Pages relating to this multiple

This is a period example of the advertising and marketing 'text books' available that helped set the writing style for advertising copy.