I admit I was pretty proud of my fourth-grader when she helped me finish the New York Time’s Monday crossword, but then she was employing words like llama and Naples. Then I saw British designer Mark Watson’s graphic dictionary poster series that he created for his own nine-year old and I thought, whoa. Maybe we could be working towards the Saturday puzzle after all?
Related: 13 Words to add to your child’s bookshelf thanks to Lemony Snicket
According to Slate, the graphic artist behind Modern Giant first created a minimalist depiction of the word contrarian after, well, his daughter was acting like one one. The idea took off from there. Now you can find beautifully graphic posters depicting words from mellifluous to heliotropism and obfuscatory — which I admit, while I know the meaning, I did have to check back twice to make sure I got the spelling right.
So maybe I need to find a spot for these too.
The cool thing is that I love the posters all on their own just as pieces of art for modern kids’ rooms. Effulgent is really just a beautiful sun print, petrichor is a graphic depiction of rain, and zephyr is a pretty way to depict a cool summer breeze in a deconstructed way.
In terms of intent, they remind me of the SATees we discovered way back in (wow) 2007, that have since been imitated all over the place. But as far as execution, what modern design fans wouldn’t love a minimalist flowerpot or even a black and white abstract hanging on the kids’ walls? Even one as contrarian as Watson’s.
Check out the Mark Watson Dictionary Series on his site Smart Giant, and purchase many of them through his print shop. Also find his other wonderful work on Behance.
