Comic Sans walks into a bar. The barman says “we don’t serve your type here.”
Doesn’t the overuse of Comic Sans on everything from wedding invitations to schoolboy essays set your teeth on edge? I would have written a rant, but this excellent prose says it all. Read it, nod sagely, then head over to bancomicsans.com (putting the ‘sans’ in Comic Sans since 2002) and buy the t-shirt.
I couldn’t agree more… Where can I sign up for the annual hunt on the users of Comic Sans? :)
ok, ok… kidding :) Violence wouldn’t solve this…
Although… :)
(random blog passant) i have felt this way for YEARS. *huff*
I completely agree. I tell this to people at my church that run PowerPoint…but they seem to like the font. UGH! I’m thinking of removing it from the computers :P
In passing, I should mention that after reasonably extensive tests, I determined that the best font for distance viewing for PowerPoint, which gets 8 lines on a 1024×768 projector screen, is Verdana Bold at between 18 and 24 point.
It’s good to see I’m not the only one!
As a religious man I am disappointed in your use of humour, particularly the racial undertones inherent within the punchline. Whilst recognizing it is certainly not intended to be even slightly offensive, deliberate misinterpretation and spin of the words of such a high profile Christian hacker could be catastrophic in the Church’s bid to convert more ethnic computer enthusiasts.
We must reach out to all of Jesus’ flock. Please discuss this seriously with your pastor.
Yay! I’m not crazy! There are other people with common knowledge out there!
Letter from the guy responsible for Comic Sans
Apparently, it was originally intended for use in Microsoft Bob, which just makes me hate it even more.
Just from my own experience, I use the font for posting signs around work because it’s quite legible and, in my opinion (and from other colleagues at work), it’s eye-catching, yet, at the same time, relaxing to view. I honestly believe that much of its usage is due to its legibility, even at small point sizes. Any font can be used improperly from a design stand-point, and personally I think Comic Sans is getting a bad rap.
A mort Comic Sans !
I join your cause (this bad habit is also widespread in France) !
Liens�:
Article sur le Blog de Gervase Markham (Mozillien)
Ban Comic…
OK. I agree Comic Sans is overused. What are the alternatives for web use?
eggy: I think you are reading more into the joke than there really is. “Your type” could mean “people as scruffily-dressed as you”, or “Democrats”, depending on which bar you visited :-) I really don’t think it’s racist, even in undertone.
Fred: I’m a fan of Verdana, myself. Although I know some people don’t like that either.
I have no idea why it is so popular to hate Comic Sans. Is it because everyone has been bombarded into thinking Verdana’s fatness is “the way” and that poor Comic’s undersize x-height is out of conformance with “the way”? Verdana is so ugly I uninstall it every chance I get.
I’ll tell you why it’s popular to hate Comic Sans: IMHO, it’s the font’s history of extensive overuse in the business world.
To have everyone from entry-level to upper management use it in their official corporate e-mails, instant messages, presentations, etc., etc. does nothing more than make the person AND the company look bad. Who cares how important the message is; how can you possibily take the message, the person, and the company seriously when what you see is a cartoon font?
Obviously, MSBob (see letter from font designer) was never intended for the business world, and too bad MS decided to preinstall the font with Windows.
Coincidentally, today I came across an entire book typeset in Comic Sans!
Felix: people hate it because it is used far too much, in inappropriate contexts, and they are sick of the sight of it. It’s nothing to do with its metrics.
Catching up on technology
As one would expect, my blogging has fallen by the wayside as I’ve been occupied by other things, such as programming, wiki’ing, and Real Life™. Just a few quick, technology-related links to let you know that I’m still alive.
comic sans (cosmic sand) is just embarrassing to see. it’s used when people want to make up for their bad meaningless writing with a cheap chirpy font *shudders*.