In this paper, I will look at the ways graphic design is used in Buffy the Vampire Slayer to convey meaning, both in the show itself and in ancillary media (the Buffy magazine, books, and so on). Design in Buffy conveys two different kinds of authenticity: one for the show itself and one for the audience. Buffy and its ancillary printed materials employ very different design strategies. Using mainly restrained "classical" design elements-typefaces, newspapers, book design-the show plays up depth, mystery, and history. The printed materials-using the latest Photoshop filters, trendy ideas of magazine design, and a hatred of white space-convey intimacy (with the show), romanticism, and  fandom. Initially, these two styles appear to be at odds-the care and creative control employed in the show and the commerce-driven, somewhat sloppy look of the printed materials. I will argue that in both cases the design conveys the authenticity of the particular text to the audience. Design  grounds the show in the real, as a balance to its comedy and pulpiness. In the printed materials, design signals that the show is real (not a piece of tv hackwork) and therefore fan-worthy-locating it both in the worlds of girl culture and scifi/fantasy. Thus, further you get from the show itself, the less design talks about Buffy as a cultural object, and the more it talks about Buffy as a communal and consumable object. I will further explore how this difference evokes the tension in the graphic design community between ideas of artistic expression, audience communication, and commerce.