A much more pleasing use of a discordant colour combination is found on the menus at the Templeton. Actually, these colours are somewhat similar to the light blue and dark orange used on the jPod cover flap (though jPod uses more of a yellow-orange). The stripes play with the eyes, and can look like they’re moving or vibrating when you try to focus on them, but they’re just there as a fun background and don’t interfere with the communication of any of the information.

I can’t think of a worse use for a discordant colour combination than to set the lighter colour as text against the darker coloured background, rendering the copy virtually unreadable, short of squinting and straining the eyes about an inch from the page. This seems like the kind of annoying trick that Douglas Coupland would enjoy playing on his readers, especially if one is to believe the characterization of himself in his own story.

To quote the front flap: “Full of word games, visual jokes and sideways jabs, this book throws a sharp, pointed lawn dart into the heart of contemporary life.”