une typo transparente dépolie et unie noir

English translation: frosty, uniformely black (tinted), transparent lettering.

15:27 May 23, 2005
French to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Photography/Imaging (& Graphic Arts)
French term or phrase: une typo transparente dépolie et unie noir
This is a sentence in a marketing text for a perfume. I don't understand the phrase between asterisks. (I'm particularly confused about the "noir," since it is masculine.)

Le logo marie *une typo transparente dépolie et unie noir.*

Note: here is an earlier draft of the sentence: Le logo allie blanc dépoli et noir.
Jeanne Zang
United States
Local time: 08:57
English translation:frosty, uniformely black (tinted), transparent lettering.
Explanation:
there's is something gramatically wrong in this sentence; otherwise it would either be 'noir uni' ou 'unie noire'. I think it's frosty, uniformely black (tinted), transparent lettering.
Selected response from:

Sandra C.
France
Local time: 13:57
Grading comment
Well, this was very tricky. Thanks for all your helpful comments. I did end up finding the logo with a Google search, and actually it was the lettering, not the background that was black. (And "frosted," not "frosty." Thanks to all.
2 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3the logo combines frosted (OR MAYBE: translucent) lettering and a black background
Tony M
4 +2Like you say,
Bourth (X)
4 -1explanation
Jocelyne S
4 -1Black logo behind a white translucent veil
zaphod
3frosty, uniformely black (tinted), transparent lettering.
Sandra C.
3 -1black font with transparent ground glass effect
Christopher RH


  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
phrase
explanation


Explanation:
I believe that it's saying that the logo is printed on a slightly "unpolished," see-through background with solid black (letters or image, I imagine).

"The logo combines..."

Jocelyne S
France
Local time: 13:57
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Tony M: I don't read it that way myself, surely it is the 'typo' [i.e. lettering] that is 'dépolie', and hence the b/g that is black.
23 mins
  -> For me, "typo" is the printed material tout court and not necessarily the lettering; but you may well be right that it's 'dépolie' on black.
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10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
phrase
black font with transparent ground glass effect


Explanation:
That's what it says to me, anyway...

I imagine the ground glass effect would make it black with a white-ish blur... hence the earlier description.

Christopher RH
Local time: 13:57
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Tony M: I don't see it as being the lettering that is black, myself.
26 mins
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
phrase
Like you say,


Explanation:
"typo"!

Typo possibly made with the best of intentions since there are complicated rules about the agreement of adjectives of colour.

For instance, if you have a string of colours describing the same object, the adjectives (can, but need not necessarily) remain invariable, e.g.

Une corbeille de pommes rouge et vert (a basket of apples, each apple being red and green), as opposed to
Une corbeille de pommes rouges et vertes (a basket of Granny Smiths and Red Deliciouses).

Or "Ces grandes nappes somptueuses, pourpre et or" [Claudel, L'Oeil écoute], where "pourpre" being an adjective, follows the above rule, and "or", being a noun used as an adjective, follows another. Like I said, complicated.

In your example, "noir" is the only real adjective of colour. Were one to say that "transparent" and "uni" could also be assimilated to adjectives of colour, then it would be correct to say:

"une typo transparent dépoli(e) et uni noir". As you can see, I'm not sure about the "dépoli(e)", which cannot even be assimilated to colour, but it would be strange to have that agree with "une typo" if the others, assimilated to colour, don't.

Bref, typo.

Bourth (X)
Local time: 13:57
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M
13 mins

agree  Sandra C.: yes, otherwise it would either be 'noir uni' ou 'unie noire'. I think it's frosty, uniformely black, transparent lettering.
2 hrs
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20 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
Black logo behind a white translucent veil


Explanation:
Veiled logo.
Matte white hazy foreground

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2005-05-25 07:37:01 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The solid black is visible through a \"veil\" of translucent white.
Matte translucent foreground, solid black behind no?

zaphod
Local time: 13:57
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Tony M: I don't quite see where you're getting the 'veil' idea from...? // It says 'transparente' -- so it can't be solid black!
16 mins
  -> How can you say that and use Translucent? Come on Dusty! The solid lettering is behind the "veil" of translucent front.
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
phrase
frosty, uniformely black (tinted), transparent lettering.


Explanation:
there's is something gramatically wrong in this sentence; otherwise it would either be 'noir uni' ou 'unie noire'. I think it's frosty, uniformely black (tinted), transparent lettering.

Sandra C.
France
Local time: 13:57
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 2
Grading comment
Well, this was very tricky. Thanks for all your helpful comments. I did end up finding the logo with a Google search, and actually it was the lettering, not the background that was black. (And "frosted," not "frosty." Thanks to all.
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31 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
phrase
the logo combines frosted (OR MAYBE: translucent) lettering and a black background


Explanation:
I agree with Bourth's analysis re: the apparent odd agreement, and this is how I would be inclined to express what I see as being the style of the logo...

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Note added at 33 mins (2005-05-23 16:00:55 GMT)
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I should have said that I think the \'unie\' is in fact a noun, and presumably means a flat background (cf. dégradé, a graduated tint...)

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Note added at 35 mins (2005-05-23 16:02:42 GMT)
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So I am reading it as

\'typo transparente dépolie\' = frosted/translucent lettering

+

\'unie noir\' = black background

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Note added at 2 hrs 34 mins (2005-05-23 18:01:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I remain convinced that the \'unie\' is a noun meaning \'an area of solid colour\', though I am unable to propose any reason why it uses the apparently feminine form, without an agreement on \'noir\' (though cf. Bourth\'s comment on colours and agreements)

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Note added at 2 hrs 36 mins (2005-05-23 18:03:26 GMT)
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Asker\'s added \'original draft\' text seems to confirm the idea of 2 distinct elements here...

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Note added at 15 hrs 19 mins (2005-05-24 06:46:06 GMT)
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I have recently been dealing with a \'graphics charter\', where they were discussing just this sort of thing; in connection with logos, they used \'typo\' very specifically to refer to JUST the lettering part of the logo, and from asking in the graphics studio with whom I work, this seems to be fairly standard practice.

Tony M
France
Local time: 13:57
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 128

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Sandra C.: I think the typo itself is translucent AND black. A transparent, uniformely black (unie) tinted typo (as well as frosted, I guess). Such bad writing!!! I see your point. But it could be both, really. 'Marie' means ' combines'..
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Sandra! Don't you think 'marie' implies that these are 2 distinct things?

agree  Catherine Christaki
14 hrs
  -> Thanks, Catherine!

agree  Christopher RH: having thought some more I have to agree: the background is 'unie noir' i.e. solid black (probably a cartouche but maybe the whole bottle), and the lettering is actually blank, leaving the ground glass bottle showing through underneath (transparently)
18 hrs
  -> Thanks, Chris! It IS hard to be sure, but that's the way I read it, at any rate :-)
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