Vignette (graphic design)

For other uses, see Vignette (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Vignetting.

A vignette of Saint-Elme Gautier. Symbolize: Love

Vignettes, in graphic design, are decorative designs usually in books, used both to separate sections or chapters and to decorate borders.

In Descriptive, or Analytical Bibliography for the hand-press period (ca. 1450 to 1800) a vignette refers to an engraved design printed using a copper-plate press, on a page that has already been printed on using a letter press (Printing press). Vignettes are sometimes distinguished from other in-text illustrations printed on a copper-plate press by the fact that they do not have a border; such designs usually appear on title-pages only.

Woodcuts, which are printed on a letter press and are also used to separate sections or chapters are identified as a headpiece, tailpiece or printer's ornament, depending on shape and position.

See also

• Calligraphy, another conjunction of text and decoration
• Curlicues, flourishes in the arts usually composed of concentric circles, often used in calligraphy
• Scrollwork, general name for scrolling abstract decoration used in many areas of the visual arts

External links

• Nat Vignette, a commercial font composed of vignettes
• British Library Glossary