



What you see here is an example of pure disregard for legibility. Firstly, the words are set in all caps, which undermines readability. Secondly, the letters are deliberately narrowed, which yet again makes it less readable. Thirdly, the very message in its wording has hardly changed in 30 years, so it’s lost its meaning (no one really noticed that “Smoking is bad for your health” got replaced with “Smoking harms your health”). Using the same wording is essential. If it kept changing, people would start paying attention (in the US and Europe, there is a tremendous variety of warnings). Fourthly—and this is the most important—the text is intentionally made part of the overall design—it is completed with a line of the corporate red. For smokers the warning is rendered as meaningless as the fact that the coat of arms on the pack features the motto “I came, I saw, I conquered” in Latin.