In magazines the original intent was to catch the attention of people scanning through an issue, just flipping through - they might turn a page and suddenly see a big quote in large text that caches their interest, and so they will stop and read the article. I admit I don't know how useful it is on a website and I thought a bit about whether to include it - ultimately I left it becuse it felt "magazine-y" and part of the goal was for the site to feel more like a magazine, with issues, and less like a blog that scrolls endlessly. But I admit it is mostly an affectation that may not serve any real purpose.

Thanks for reading btw!