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The font is strong in these striking 'Star Wars' posters (pictures)

An Argentinian graphic designer has created a series of posters he calls "Swiss Star Wars." What does that mean? Click through this gallery to find out.

Michael Franco
Freelancer Michael Franco writes about the serious and silly sides of science and technology for CNET and other pixel and paper pubs. He's kept his fingers on the keyboard while owning a B&B in Amish country, managing an eco-resort in the Caribbean, sweating in Singapore, and rehydrating (with beer, of course) in Prague. E-mail Michael.
Michael Franco
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1 of 8 Fernando de Carabassa

Reven-, um, Return of the Jedi

"I have been always amazed by this galaxy far, far away that has fantastic new worlds, hyperdrives, lightsabers and space battles," says Buenos-Aires, Argentina-based graphic designer Fernando de Carabassa.

De Carabassa's love of all things "Star Wars" combines with his love of the Swiss Style of design, which relies heavily upon typography, in this collection of posters called "Swiss Star Wars."

In this design, de Carabassa isn't making a mistake -- he's showing that he really knows his "Star Wars" history. "Revenge of the Jedi" was the onetime title of the movie that would come to be known and loved as "Return of the Jedi." Legend has it that George Lucas changed the title because of fan pressure; the fans just didn't think "revenge" was a very becoming attribute of a Jedi.

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2 of 8 Fernando de Carabassa

The Empire Strikes …. Brass?

A lot of de Carabassa's posters in this series look like classic album covers. Looking at this one for the second film released in the "Star Wars" franchise, you can almost hear the brassy, urgent trumpets sounding in the score that played over the opening sequence.

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3 of 8 Fernando de Carabassa

Secret code

De Carabassa says the posters in this series are done in a kind of secret code. "Planets are the round ones," he told me. "Triangles are for things like lightsabers, hyperdrives or Wookiees, and squares are for characters, movies and, most important, quotes."

Chewbacca would probably dispute his classification as a thing rather than a character, but, moving on! So the triangle here indicates that we're talking about a thing -- one of the most awesome things to ever grace the big screen in fact -- a lightsaber.

De Carabassa says that the inspiration for this poster, and his idea to use "snap hiss" to describe the weapon, came from Timothy Zahn's books, of which he's a huge fan. Zahn is the author of 10 novels about the "Star Wars" expanded universe.

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4 of 8 Fernando de Carabassa

Double the fun

This design -- which is round, so it's about a planet -- looks almost like a travel poster for Tatooine, Anakin and Luke Skywalker's homeworld. That is until you read Luke's famous quote at the bottom.

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5 of 8 Fernando de Carabassa

Use the midi-chlorians, Luke

This helpful poster has two great components to it. First there's Han Solo's unforgettable quote in the upper left that disparages the use of the Force. Second, there's a scholarly definition of the midi-chlorians, the "microscopic life forms that reside within the cells of all living things and communicate with the Force," on the right side.

According to StarWars.com, George Lucas had this to say about the little critters in an interview with author Terry Brooks:

"I'm assuming that the midi-chlorians are a race that everybody knows about [in the world of Star Wars]. The way you interact and interface with this larger energy field [the Force] is through the midi-chlorians, which are sensitive to the energy. They are at the core of your life, which is the cell, the living cell. They are in a symbiotic relationship with the cell. And then, because they're all interconnected as one, they can communicate with the larger Force field. That's how you deal with the Force."

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6 of 8 Fernando de Carabassa

That's no moon

Certainly in the top five of all-time best-loved "Star Wars" quotes, this poster pays homage to the moment Luke, Obi-Wan, Han and Chewbacca realize that the Death Star definitely ain't no moon.

7star-wars.jpg
7 of 8 Fernando de Carabassa

Some like it Hoth

Another poster with a round element, this one pays homage to the planet Hoth. The main typographic section on the poster is a play on the movie "Some Like It Hot" and is particularly fun here because, as everyone knows, the ice-covered Hoth is definitely not a very hot planet to visit. Or, as Luke Skywalker put it, "But a settler would have to be crazy to stake his claims on Hoth. This planet doesn't have a thing to offer anyone—except us."

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8 of 8 Fernando de Carabassa

See you on the dark side ...

This poster again evokes an album cover. For me, it's reminiscent of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" with its vivid colors on a black background. But the dark side this poster is referencing isn't an old '70s album, of course, it's the dark side of the Force, which de Carabassa says at the bottom is called "Bogan or Boga by the ancient Force-sensitives" on Tython. (I'm betting that's a piece of trivia the casual fan never knew.)

To see more of de Carabassa's "Star Wars" posters and his other work, visit his Behance page here. If you particularly dig any of the designs in this gallery, you can order them on your very own pillow through RedBubble.

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