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Just Say No… to Comic Sans?

Most fonts “work” if thoughtfully applied to a complimentary design.

However, because design is a subjective world, every graphic artist has a coterie of favored fonts — and a secret catalog of those that make them cringe no matter how they’re applied.

Microsoft’s Comic Sans tops my list of undesirable type, and I’m not alone.

A relatively new sticker-campaign called “Ban Comic Sans” is in full effect, drawing so much attention that Comic Sans’ creator Vincent Connare has even released a message to the public dismissing the crusade against Comic Sans.

Even though just about everything from celebrities to automobiles have fanclub pages and “anti” Web sites on the Internet, it’s particularly amusing that the seemingly docile realm of typography is now encouraging such digital shrines and boycott campaigns.

In my search to learn more about the controversy over Comic Sans, I ran into a Web site that offers a typeface entitled “I Hate Comic Sans” free to its visitors.

It’s all pretty amusing, parody or not.

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ENTRY DETAILS
ARCHIVE ID 1254 FILED UNDER Typography
PUBLISHED ON Oct.01.2002 BY joy olivia
WITH COMMENTS
Comments
Armin’s comment is:

So I'm Eminen of font type users now but I'm just me too. - Vincent Connare.

At least Eminem, or his possee, can kick my ass if I mess with him.

Comic Sans is indeed an ugly font. I'm sure other fonts pick on Comic Sans and spend all the time telling "yo' mamma is so ugly..." jokes.

The Comic Sans society is a joke. 30 year old guys leaving in their parents basement, playing Dungeons & Dragons, are way more cool than these losers.

As far as reviled fonts, one of my personal enemies is Copperplate Gothic.

On Oct.02.2002 at 02:43 PM
Hrant’s comment is:

Like, I have no reason to be mean to Connare (his Magpie has a coolness), but I can't help it, I have to say it: if I saw Comic Sans jaywalking, I would run it over. Twice.

hhp

On Oct.02.2002 at 04:58 PM
Todd’s comment is:

Comics Sans - favored typeface of human resource managers the world over! Preferably in a color and at a type size greater than 24pt.

Damn that font.

On Oct.02.2002 at 09:41 PM
plain*clothes’s comment is:

really, people! don't waste your energy being mad at this insanely successful design. it sucks, every decent designer/typographer knows that. the real problem is that people _choose_ to incorporate it into their work!

we all know that the people who do Disney's adverts are possibly the worst designers on the planet, but that could be forgiven. the fact that they make use of Comic Sans in multiple media, however, is worthy of banishment from all civilized society. it's not the font that instigates that pulsating vein on my neck, it's the fact that a conscious decision was made to use it.

this is comparable (though far less profound) to people hating any form of weapon (guns in particular). think of Comic Sans as an automatic rifle: it does nothing on its own, but the moment someone points it toward his fellow man and pulls the trigger (or font pull-down menu) it becomes a killing machine!!!

On Oct.03.2002 at 02:31 PM
kris’s comment is:

ha! Human Resource managers and librarians. But it is nowhere near as vile as the mac cystem font 'sand'. This even gets used in some student type assignments.(there may be help...)

On Oct.05.2002 at 05:12 AM
Martin’s comment is:

On y last machine I actually had a freeware font installed called "I hate comic sans".

The font was, naturally, butt-ugly but I felt I had to install it just as a statement.

-M

On Oct.05.2002 at 09:04 AM
Armin’s comment is:

> font installed called "I hate comic sans".

Joy also linked to it, this one right?

Truthfully, I don't see how that font says "I hate comic sans" I don't know how I would do it, but that looks just like any other comic font.

On Oct.05.2002 at 11:20 AM
David E.’s comment is:

i used to read comic books as a kid, and this font really looks nothing like the lettering in comic books. Why didnt they get someone who does that type of lettering to create the font? It's God awful...i dont care what the application of it is.

As far as Disney's designers being the worst on the planet, they're actually most likely the most FRUSTRATED designers on the planet. Entertainment design is the most horrible, corporate type of design-by-committee that there is.

On Jul.02.2003 at 07:45 PM