*2025 Kaleidoscope Auburn Design Show Winner for Typographics 2

In James Thurber’s beloved short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, an ordinary man escapes his humdrum life through extraordinary daydreams—becoming a daring pilot, a renowned surgeon, a fearless sharpshooter, and more, all in the span of a single afternoon. But reality keeps interrupting. . . .

This reinterpretation captures the tension between Mitty’s inner world and external routine using only typography. Text is initially restrained within grey boxes and surrounded by negative space, reflecting the quiet pressure of Mitty’s day-to-day life. As his fantasies grow more intense, the text escapes the boxes, scale shifts, and unexpected formats appear. These playful format changes bring Mitty’s imagination to life: his high-flying escape as a naval pilot unfolds as a foldable paper airplane, his turn as a renowned surgeon appears as a tucked-in operation card, and his heroic mission as a WWI flying ace is retold through a mock newspaper clipping. Each transformation reflects the thrill, absurdity, and urgency of his inner world pushing against the limits of the real one.

Even the cover plays a quiet role in the story. Though his name is the largest piece of the title, hinting at how he views himself as larger than life, a grey flap conceals it, revealing only “Mitty” at first glance. This concealment establishes Mitty’s relationship with reality and how it often overshadows him. Looking beneath the flap becomes an invitation to enter his inner world.