The Evils of Comic Sans

In Blogging by Melissa Meschke

Yes, I have called Comic Sans evil. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, this is what the Comic Sans font looks like:

comic-sans-300x73

 

Now, it’s not that I hate this font for being the font it is. It works nicely for things like birthday cards and children that are learning to type. When it bugs me is when it’s used in a business setting or for something serious. Examples of these are:

In an email from a business account:

hmrccomicsans

 

On Business cards:

Final-Back-of-Biz-Card_Comic-Sans-font-300x180

 

On serious things like directions, sad stories, or job applications:

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Honestly, any time you are dealing with your credibility or professional life

I could go on, but I think you get the point. As I thought about writing this blog, I became curious on how it came about and why so many people hate it so much.

It turns out that Comic Sans was created by Vincent Connare in 1994 for Microsoft, but was never intended for public release. It was only intended to be used in speech bubbles for MS Bob, but ended up being included in Microsoft Movie 3D Maker, Windows 95, and then in Internet Explorer and other Microsoft programs.

The hate has many reasons. First of all, it is incredibly overused. This is plan and simple and most people know it. Second, from a design standpoint, the font itself is very inconsistent; the kerning and weighting of the font are sloppy. Third, is the point I made above of it being used in inappropriate situations. When you are trying to make a serious point, why use a “funny” font?

When it comes to professional or serious communications, pick a font that matches your tone. You want something that is easy to read, clean, and professional looking. I personally like picking fonts that not everyone else has used, so I also try to avoid ones like Times New Roman and Calibri as well. You want things like business cards and posters to stick out, not blend in!

Well, I hope this blog has inspired you to find new fonts. You are also now cursed with spotting the ever-present Comic Sans font. Everywhere. You. Go.

Till next time!

~Melissa

“(She) who knows Comic Sans when she sees it, winces in mild disgust” ~Cory Doctorow