What’s the connection between graphic design and comedy?

The success of web design and print design is dependent (in most cases) on good writing. Hence, lots of us are interested in the writer’s craft.

Recently, as I watched some episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” from the 1970s, I was reminded of just how memorable good comedy writing can be. (Bob Mankoff describes the difference between comedy and humor as such: “Comedy is a form of professional entertainment, consisting of jokes and sketches intended to make people laugh. The humor in everyday life is often unintentional, consisting of harmless mistakes; the humor in comedy shouldn’t be.”)

The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in particular featured the work of roughly 65 talented writers over its seven year run, including greats such as James L. Brooks, Allan Burns, and David Lloyd (whose son has carried on the family craft as a producer of the TV series Modern Family).

If you want to infuse your work with a sense of humor studying the work of great comedy writers and teams of writers can be very enlightening. For your consideration:

A few clips from season 5 of the Mary Tyler Moore Show…

From SplitSider: The Greatest TV Writers Rooms Ever…

An in depth interview of James L. Brooks for the Archive of American Television…

From The Writers Guild of America: 101 Best Written TV Series…

One of the MTMS writers, Stan Daniels, became known for a comedy writing technique known as the “Stan Daniels Turn”…

Originally posted in MAY 2016 / Chuck Green is the principal of Logic Arts, a design and marketing firm, a contributor to numerous magazines and websites, and the author of books published by Random House, Peachpit Press, and Rockport Publishers. Contact.

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