Figure 9-10.—Tripod head.
Figure 9-11.—Wicket head.
Figure 9-12.—Novelty head.
TRIPOD HEAD
The tripod head (fig. 9-10) is a single, short line of
larger type set to the left of two lines of smaller type.
The tripod portion (larger wording) should be twice the
size of the definition or main headline. For example, a
36-point tripod would dictate that the main head be set
in 18-point type to give the true tripod appearance.
Punctuation in the form of a colon is required when the
tripod conveys a separate thought.
WICKET HEAD
The wicket head (fig. 9-1 1) is a tripod in reverse
(short line of larger type set to the right of two lines of
smaller type). The colon is not used in the wicket.
Although it is seldom used, on occasion, you may
consider it to vary your newspaper design.
9-6
NOVELTY HEAD
The novelty head (fig. 9-12) features typographical
tricks, such as setting part of the head upside down,
using an ornate typeface or substituting artwork as
characters. Use the novelty headline sparingly with
appropriate feature articles. Overuse of this headline
may lead to your readership questioning the credibility
of the newspaper.
HEADLINE WRITING SKILLS
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Recognize the
components and attributes required in headline
writing.
