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201 entries, 447 steal-notes — 281 by hand, 166 model drafts. 20 results have public source URLs. Source and classification review are recorded separately on each reference.

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Magazine DNA: serif display at outrageous sizes, multi-column measure, pull quotes, drop caps, rules. Reading as the hero interaction. Read it as a style sheet →

Active filters:family: Editorial kind: poster

15 references in Editorial · posterClear search & filters

Picture Posters

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
Title lettering uses two weights of the same condensed sans: the word PICTURE is set in a heavy stroke that matches the black ink of the illustration, while POSTERS is lighter and sits on the same baseline. The two words share terminal character (abrupt vertical cutoffs) so the lighter word still reads as belonging to the heavier one.
Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
The illustration is placed so its top edge aligns with the optical centre of the page; the title arcs above it using the same curve as the barrel rim. Subordination is by size: the figure is the largest single mass and every other element (title, author, imprint) is scaled to it.

private-reference-only

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Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: private-reference-only. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

There flows from Latin America

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
Body text is set in a single narrow measure (roughly 45 characters) with no paragraph breaks or subheads. The entire argument is one continuous block whose grey value is deliberately matched to the half-tone photograph directly above it, so the text reads as a second tone mass rather than as readable lines.
Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
The layout is a single vertical stack: headline (two lines), photograph, body block, footer quote. Each element spans the full width with no margins or gutters. The only spatial decision is the proportion of image height to text height, which is approximately 1:2.5.

private-reference-only

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Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: private-reference-only. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

Sculptress

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
The single word 'SCULPTRESS' is set in a condensed, high-contrast serif whose thick strokes are roughly twice the width of the thin strokes. The word is letter-spaced so that the counter of each letter is approximately equal to the letter height, turning the word into a row of near-abstract shapes rather than readable text.
Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
The sheet is divided by a single strong horizontal: the lower 60 % holds the full-length figure; the upper 40 % is empty except for the centred word. The figure’s head breaks the dividing line by roughly one eye-height, creating a deliberate overlap that ties the two zones together.

private-reference-only

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Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: private-reference-only. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

May Milton

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
The name 'MAY MILTON' is lettered in a single weight of bold grotesque capitals whose stroke thickness matches the weight of the black outlines used on the figure below. The type is stacked in two centered lines with almost no leading, so the word block reads as one dense rectangular mass rather than separate lines.
Steal · colormodel draft
Palette is limited to four flat colours: cadmium yellow, a warm red, black, and the cream of the paper. The yellow is used only for the figure’s dress and the red only for the hat ribbon and lips, creating two small high-saturation accents against large areas of black and cream.
Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
The composition places the figure in the lower two-thirds, cropped at the knees, so that her head and hat sit exactly on the horizontal centre-line. All typography is pushed into the remaining top third and locked to the same centre axis, producing a single vertical spine that organises the entire sheet.

private-reference-only

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Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: private-reference-only. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

Poster for the Lembrée Gallery

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
The title 'LEMRÉE' is set in a single line of extremely condensed, high-contrast all-caps lettering whose x-height nearly fills the full height of the upper band. Letter-spacing is tight enough that counters begin to merge at thumbnail size, creating a single dark bar that reads before the word is legible.
Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
A narrow horizontal band (roughly 1/6 of total height) is reserved for the gallery name and address; everything below it is given to a full-bleed figurative illustration. The band is further subdivided by two hairline rules that align exactly with the top and bottom of the lettering, turning the type into a measured architectural frieze.

private-reference-only

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Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: private-reference-only. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

Yvette Guilbert

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
The name is set in an extreme condensed sans, all caps, at a size that spans nearly the full width of the sheet. The single word 'Yvette' is allowed to sit larger than 'Guilbert,' breaking the usual all-caps uniformity to create a secondary focal point inside the title block itself.
Steal · colormodel draft
Flat yellow ground with the figure rendered in black line and two flat reds (dress and lips). The palette is restricted to four inks total, with the yellow used as both background and negative space around the black type.

Fonts: condensed sans all-caps

public-domain

View original ↗

Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: public-domain. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

Broadside with a Barge Sailing on Ice

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
Two sizes of blackletter: the headline is roughly 2.5× the measure of the body text, both justified to the same left edge. The date and place sit in a smaller roman face below, creating a three-tier hierarchy without rules or ornaments.
Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
The woodcut illustration sits directly above the text block with no caption or separator. The image width exactly matches the text measure, so the composition reads as a single vertical stack rather than two separate elements.

Fonts: blackletter, roman

public-domain

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Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: public-domain. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

Martin Vanden Bogaert Desjardins

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
The name is engraved in a single line of roman capitals whose serifs are extended until they almost meet, turning the baseline into a continuous horizontal bar that runs the full width of the oval frame.
Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
The portrait medallion is centred inside a tall rectangular field; the remaining vertical space above and below the oval is filled with two identical panels of Latin inscription set in the same size and weight, creating strict top-bottom symmetry around the central image.

private-reference-only

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Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: private-reference-only. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

Self-Portrait

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
The signature and date are placed directly under the lower lip of the portrait in a size so small that they read as a single grey line rather than individual letters; the measure of the inscription exactly matches the width of the mouth above it.

private-reference-only

View original ↗

Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: private-reference-only. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

Reine de Joie

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
The title REINE DE JOIE is broken into three stacked lines with the middle line (DE) set in a markedly smaller size and centred; the resulting stepped silhouette is mirrored by the three horizontal bands of the decorative border.
Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
The central vignette is framed by a narrow white margin on all four sides; the outer red border is exactly twice the width of that margin, producing a 1:2 inner-to-outer frame ratio that keeps the illustration from touching the edge of the sheet.

private-reference-only

View original ↗

Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: private-reference-only. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

La revue blanche

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
The masthead LA REVUE BLANCHE is set in a condensed grotesque whose x-height is deliberately lowered so the ascenders and descenders create a rhythmic up-and-down silhouette against the white ground.
Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
The two figures are placed in the lower third; the upper two-thirds are left almost empty except for the masthead and a thin horizontal rule; the rule sits exactly one cap-height below the baseline of the title, giving a precise 3:1 empty-to-content ratio in the vertical dimension.

private-reference-only

View original ↗

Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: private-reference-only. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

Aristide Bruant

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
The name ARISTIDE BRUANT is letter-spaced so tightly that adjacent letters nearly touch; the tracking is reduced until the counters of the B and R become the dominant negative shapes.
Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
The figure is cropped at mid-thigh and pushed hard against the left edge; the remaining two-thirds of the width is given to a flat red field that carries only the name and the small theatre credit at the bottom, creating a 1:2 split between figure and text block.

private-reference-only

View original ↗

Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: private-reference-only. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

Zodiaque ("La Plume")

Editorial · poster

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · typographymodel draft
The single word ZODIAQUE is set in an all-caps display face whose weight is carried almost entirely by the thick vertical stems; the horizontals and curves are thinned to hairline so the word reads as a row of dark posts linked by fine strokes.
Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
The central female figure occupies the full height but is placed slightly left of centre, leaving a tall vertical margin on the right that contains only the magazine name and date in two sizes; the figure’s right hand and the staff create a diagonal that leads the eye into that margin.
Steal · colormodel draft
The palette is limited to four values: warm parchment ground, muted olive for the decorative border, a single terracotta red for the title banner, and black for all lettering and linework; no secondary or tertiary hues are introduced.

private-reference-only

View original ↗

Source & usage rights

Original: Creator not recorded. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: private-reference-only. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-10. Capture does not establish source verification.

A nation that enslaves another cannot itself be free

Editorial · poster · via V&A Collections

Source: pending · Classification: rejected

Original principle diagram · Draft explanation
Let one image interrupt the rhythm.
**What to borrow:** Give a focal image a distinct horizontal band.
When to use this principle
When it works
A single visual that carries the main message.
When to avoid it
Dense interfaces where decorative bands disrupt the working sequence.
Original principle diagram — a model-drafted explanation, not a reconstruction of the source. Trova · AI-assisted illustration. Original Trova diagram.

Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
The page is divided into three horizontal bands of unequal height: top green band (map and two photos), middle white band (crowd and camera), bottom green band (title only). The middle band is the largest and contains the single focal object (camera lens) that overlaps both green fields.
Steal · typographymodel draft
The title line is set in a condensed sans, all caps, and sized so its length exactly matches the width of the bottom green band. Letter-spacing is uniform and tight; the type colour is black on green so it reads as a fourth value rather than as text.

Original: 1979-1980

private-reference-only

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Source & usage rights

Original: 1979-1980. Source verification: pending review.

Recorded rights label: private-reference-only. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-10-09. Capture does not establish source verification.

Toulouse-Lautrec — Moulin Rouge: La Goulue

Editorial · poster · via Art Institute of Chicago

Source: pending · Classification: pending

Steal · colormodel draft
Five flat values and no shading anywhere: black silhouette crowd behind, the lit cream subject in the middle, a large desaturated grey cut-out figure in front. Depth is built purely by value separation and overlap — the nearest figure is the dullest, the subject the brightest. Invert the usual instinct to make foreground elements the most saturated.
Steal · typographymodel draft
'MOULIN ROUGE' is repeated three times on stacked lines with one oversized red 'M' spanning all three as a shared initial. Repetition used as texture rather than emphasis — the name becomes a pattern block. Works for a hero wordmark: set the word three times, let one letter run the full stack height.
Steal · grid/layoutmodel draft
There is no grid. Type sits in four clusters at four different scales, placed wherever the illustration leaves room, and the foreground figure crops through the bottom headline so image and lettering interlock instead of occupying separate bands. Steal for editorial hero art: let one element break the type's bounding box.

Fonts: hand-lettered condensed sans · Original: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

CC0 · Art Institute of Chicago

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Source & usage rights

Original: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Work date: 1891. Primary metadata checked 2026-10-01. Art Institute API artwork 82287 matches title, artist and date; API marks the museum image public domain. Capture correspondence and reproduction rights remain unverified.

Recorded rights label: CC0 · Art Institute of Chicago. Original work and reproduction rights belong to their owners. A note license does not grant rights to copy a screenshot, trademark or design.

Trova notes: apply the principles in your own work, including commercial projects. Bulk republication or resale is not permitted. Usage terms.

Captured: 2026-08-02. Capture does not establish source verification.

Read the editorial record

Provenance & takedown

Publicly sourced references link to an original; private or concept examples are labelled separately. All referenced work belongs to its creators. What this vault adds — and what it is for — is the commentary: the steal-notes are the content, not the pixels. Notes are written by hand unless their card says otherwise; a model draft is always labelled. Study use only.

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Try it in your agent · no key

One command puts these notes inside Claude Code. Without a key the agent sees 5 families and gets 5 calls a day — enough to judge the taste before you rent it. The key opens every family and lifts the meter.

claude mcp add --transport http trova https://trova.design/api/mcp