The Plague Among Us

I am not crazy, I promise. I have a defense for what I am about to say and I will only freak out momentarily if I am crossed about the very touchy subject I am going to elaborate on. Yes, I know there are more important, pressing things in life, but I cannot help it. There is a plague among us and it must be stopped. I am talking about Comic Sans.

If you do not know, Comic Sans is a font that I absolutely cannot stand. Albeit irrational to most people, I am not alone. In fact, I present you with the greatest thing I have seen on the internet today:

Why do I hate Comic Sans you may ask, it is just kind of terrible. I am a graphic design major so I deal with type a lot. Typefaces, type families, serifs, san serifs, type anatomy, every detail you can think of with lettering is what I am learning about. And Comic Sans breaks the rules.

The biggest problem is its overuse. It is a typeface that most people are familiar with and it makes it comfortable. When the average person scrolls through a list of fonts to choose from it is overwhelming, they do not really care what they choose, they just want it to be legible and people know Comic Sans. In a sea of foreign fonts it is logical to grab the one that is familiar. But when a typeface is everywhere it often gets used in places it does not belong.

Comic Sans was originally created for use on, you guessed it, comics! Here is the story of how this monstrosity came to be according to Vincent Connare, the type’s designer. “I designed Comic Sans while I was working at Microsoft. I had been given a beta version of Microsoft Bob, a comic software package designed primarily for young users. The package featured a dog called Rover, with message balloons set in Times New Roman — a system font oddly unsuited to the comic context. My inspiration for Comic Sans came from the shock of seeing Times New Roman used so inappropriately.”

I find it ironic that the reason Comic Sans was invented was because of an inappropriate use of a typeface, because it itself is one of the most inappropriately used typefaces in the world today. It is being used on signage, professional documents, even tombstones. It is simply too whimsical for most of what it is being used on.

While I cannot stand Comic Sans, I do recognize that it has a few appropriate uses. These include comics, children’s activities and documents that will be used by people with dyslexia (it is actually easier for them to read). Other than these three categories, I do not believe Comic Sans should be published.

If you are not into design you may think I am crazy, but I promise you I am not alone. If you do not believe me go to Google and search for the most hated fonts. I guarantee that Comic Sans with be in every result. There is even a song about it and I urge you to sign this pledge from Comic Sans Criminal promising not to use it.

 

But in all seriousness, if you are a Comic Sans fanatic I will not think any less of you. But I do urge you to think before you type. Consider whether or not the typeface you are using is appropriate for what you are using it for. Somewhere a designer will thank you.