adjective – serious and without any humour

 

He always have a solemn face.

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" Being solemn is easy. Being serious is hard. You probably have to be born serious, or at least go through a very interesting childhood. Children almost always begin by being serious, which is what makes them so entertaining when compared to adults as a class."

Russell Baker, 1978

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Paula Scher, a well-known and influential graphic designer, mentions Russell Baker's words as the inspiration of her design approach. Despite being highly effective, it is a hard call to decide if it is a serious matter. Differentiating the 'serious' and 'solemn' might be a easy beginning to figure this out. Here is the inspiring article of Baker's and the mentioned speech of Scher.

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