Defend the Indefensible: Comic Sans Serif

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Are there still people left in the universe who care about the distinction between "font" and "typeface"?

(Comic, Times, Garamond, etc., are typefaces; a font is traditionally the set of characters in a given typeface at a given size and weight/style--so Palatino is a typeface and Palatino 10 bold, or whatever, is a font.)

I guess the answer to my question is "no."

The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Monday, 22 August 2005 13:07 (eighteen years ago) link

I used to go to my girlfriend's newspaper parties where everyone would play GUESS THAT FONT whenever a commercial would come on the television.

It's kinda why I stayed in radio.

Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 22 August 2005 15:41 (eighteen years ago) link

Zapf Chancery.

?? What's so bad about it?

Out of the old Mac system fonts it was sort of the default "classy" font and it was inappropriately overused in the same way that comic sans is now. You have to picture it printed by a dot matrix printer for the full effect.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Monday, 22 August 2005 15:47 (eighteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...
People actually write their papers using comic sans serif?

I just had a student come in to the library asking questions about using apa format in research papers, so I asked to look at the paper they were writing and it was in comic sans serif. I stood there in disbelief for a minute or two, I'm lucky I didn't have a psychotic break with reality.

O'so Krispie (Ex Leon), Tuesday, 6 September 2005 16:45 (eighteen years ago) link

five months pass...
I just found a letter in one of the files here at work from Sir Cliff Richard. Cliff is a fan of Comic Sans it would appear.

James Ward (jamesmichaelward), Thursday, 9 February 2006 11:13 (eighteen years ago) link

We're instructed to use Comic Sans for subtitling on kids' stuff for a certain major client (B1g C00k L1ttl3 C00k, Balam0ry, etc). The pre-schoolers love it!

Tiresias and Arial Narrow for everyone else.

Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Thursday, 9 February 2006 11:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Aww. leave poor Comic Sans Serif alone. It's just trying to be friendly. There are worse offenders

Mr Jones (Mr Jones), Thursday, 9 February 2006 12:01 (eighteen years ago) link

"JOkerman"

Mr Jones (Mr Jones), Thursday, 9 February 2006 12:06 (eighteen years ago) link

The creator claims it was an accident. But not on his part.

melton mowbray (adr), Thursday, 9 February 2006 12:08 (eighteen years ago) link

one year passes...
http://international.fhwa.dot.gov/uts/images/figure_20b.jpg

S-, Friday, 23 March 2007 05:08 (seventeen years ago) link

Yucky.

Drooone, Friday, 23 March 2007 05:16 (seventeen years ago) link

everything at the hospital earlier this month was written in Comic Sans Serif.

Felt Tip Font is is trying to take the Comic Crown, I think.

http://image3.myfonts.com/charactermap/be/be12554aa5bf3d8aa53ac44f84d140e4.gif

Pleasant Plains, Friday, 23 March 2007 05:24 (seventeen years ago) link

Nope. Comic Sans is stil worse.

The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Friday, 23 March 2007 05:50 (seventeen years ago) link

Comic Sans is definately worse, but Felt Tip Font there makes me a bit uneasy. A bit sick. A bit angry.

Drooone, Friday, 23 March 2007 05:55 (seventeen years ago) link

three months pass...

http://www.earlyblues.com/essay_one_story.htm

Curt1s Stephens, Friday, 29 June 2007 19:35 (sixteen years ago) link

i can't read that.

andrew m., Friday, 29 June 2007 19:58 (sixteen years ago) link

I don't share the Comic Sans hate.

after all, there are far worse fonts around. Do you ever bring up the dropdwon list on Word and think "why on earth did they include those? Can I think of a reason for EVER EVER using at least half of these gross fonts??? Answer: No!"

Bahaus 93, Bernard MT Condensed, Broadway, Forte, Rcokwell Condensed - I'm talkin' 'bout YOU!

Antique Olive looks ok, but what a gross name! I was looking for spare change down the back of my sofa and I found....

Grandpont Genie, Friday, 6 July 2007 13:26 (sixteen years ago) link

waiting for the iPone-inspired Marker Felt hate

Alan, Friday, 6 July 2007 13:43 (sixteen years ago) link

I don't get the hatred either. :-(

nathalie, Friday, 6 July 2007 13:49 (sixteen years ago) link

If you have to ask...

kenan, Friday, 6 July 2007 13:50 (sixteen years ago) link

No, no, Kenan, keep your clothes on.

Oh wait... you're talking about something else.

nathalie, Friday, 6 July 2007 13:51 (sixteen years ago) link

har har

kenan, Friday, 6 July 2007 13:53 (sixteen years ago) link

I remember in an early Dilbert strip the Pointy Haired Boss urged his staff to use sans-serif fonts in faxes coz they go through the fax machine quicker and don't cost so much to send.

Maybe the use of the word 'comic' was a bit of a faux pas. Rename this font!

Have to say that sans serif fonts look friendlier than serif ones in the same way that lower case looks friendlier than BLOCK CAPITALS. Witness the changes in the health warnings on cigarrette packets. Years ago the warnings were HM GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH warnings in BLOCK CAPITALS and something resembling Times New Roman like some elderly relative was telling you the harm of smoking with a wagging finger whereas now the warnings are in lower case sans serif like a friend saying "Hey mate, you do realise the harm those things are doing to you, don't you?"

Grandpont Genie, Friday, 6 July 2007 13:56 (sixteen years ago) link

Yes, but comic sans isn't just friendly, it's Special Olympics friendly.

kenan, Friday, 6 July 2007 13:58 (sixteen years ago) link

two months pass...

While moving I found an ancient litmag from the dawn of time back when I was in high school, a huge chunk of the ridiculous poetry contained therein is printed in COMIC SANS.

nickalicious, Thursday, 13 September 2007 08:08 (sixteen years ago) link

Rockwell Condensed is OK

blueski, Thursday, 13 September 2007 10:01 (sixteen years ago) link

Yeah, I was gonna say. It's got nothing on the pitch-perfect MODERNITY! of plain Rockwell, but it's pretty inoffensive and probably useful for certain purposes. Comic Sans is universally awful and a dead giveaway that whatever's written in it isn't worth reading anyway.

Doctor Casino, Sunday, 23 September 2007 04:02 (sixteen years ago) link

we need a 'your litmag shame' thread.

milo z, Sunday, 23 September 2007 04:06 (sixteen years ago) link

seven months pass...

fuck this font

Autumn Almanac, Monday, 5 May 2008 01:43 (sixteen years ago) link

best font evar

jhøshea, Monday, 5 May 2008 01:43 (sixteen years ago) link

i was gonna make a comic sans ilx css why havent i done that yet

jhøshea, Monday, 5 May 2008 01:45 (sixteen years ago) link

change the default to comic sans for one day, just for lols

Autumn Almanac, Monday, 5 May 2008 01:52 (sixteen years ago) link

I would like to congratulate all the comic sans haters for living on the edge and standing up for TELLING OTHER PEOPLE WHAT TO DO LIKE STYOOPID FASSSSSHIST COCK HARVESTERS WHOSE MOST USEFUL MISSION IS PROBABLY TO FUCK THE FUCK OFF AND DIE IN AGONISING AGONY YOU SPUNKBUBBLES

Noodle Vague, Monday, 5 May 2008 01:53 (sixteen years ago) link

hey guys lets get drunk and hassle people on MS Comic Chat

burt_stanton, Monday, 5 May 2008 01:54 (sixteen years ago) link

LADIES AND GENERALMEN, BURT CLUELESS STANDPIPE

Noodle Vague, Monday, 5 May 2008 01:55 (sixteen years ago) link

Nothing says corporate sensibility like comic sans

Autumn Almanac, Monday, 5 May 2008 02:05 (sixteen years ago) link

this font sucks, but so do 99% of all fonts ever

max, Monday, 5 May 2008 02:06 (sixteen years ago) link

Last week I received a CV from a man born in 1961 who thought it was a good idea to send an important document entirely in Comic Sans.

Apparently, it is the easiest font for dyslexics to read. I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS.

Matt DC, Monday, 5 May 2008 02:18 (sixteen years ago) link

http://i30.tinypic.com/ohtyzn.jpg

jhøshea, Monday, 5 May 2008 02:21 (sixteen years ago) link

There are WAY worse overused fonts in this world:

Jester:

http://www.trendycrafts.net/images/jester%5B1%5D.JPG

Papyrus (ALWAYS used for shit like below):

http://www.legendofthesanddollar.com/images/fonts/papyrus.jpg

Copperplate Gothic Bold (choice of lazy business card designers everywhere):

http://www.identifont.com/samples/urw/CopperplateGothicBold.gif

Abbott, Monday, 5 May 2008 02:37 (sixteen years ago) link

They're all fine when used properly. It's when comic sans is used for business emails and presentations that most people doubt the cerebral integrity of the author.

Autumn Almanac, Monday, 5 May 2008 02:43 (sixteen years ago) link

I suppose the importance of Papyrus is to warn me: SHIT ENCLOSED.

Abbott, Monday, 5 May 2008 02:45 (sixteen years ago) link

WARNING: AGEING HIPPY RANT ABOUT STARS AND TREES AND THE AFTERLIFE ENCLOSED

Autumn Almanac, Monday, 5 May 2008 02:50 (sixteen years ago) link

WARNING: BUDDING FANTASY AUTHOR IS SENDING YOU JOKE EMAILS

Autumn Almanac, Monday, 5 May 2008 02:50 (sixteen years ago) link

somebody in the DOD has their classified outlook account set to do everything in copperplate gothic, I got something forwarded to me from them once and wau just wau

El Tomboto, Monday, 5 May 2008 02:56 (sixteen years ago) link

i like Copperplate alright.
i never use it - but my local watering hole has it as their font and it don't urk me none.
good call on Papyrus tho. blugh.

The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 5 May 2008 04:00 (sixteen years ago) link

that reminds me - i have some font homework for ile. need to track down that other font thread...

The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 5 May 2008 04:01 (sixteen years ago) link

My #1 most hated font is Algerian.

jaymc, Monday, 5 May 2008 04:20 (sixteen years ago) link

Seriously, fuck off.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/15/20720349_76a47efb59.jpg?v=0

jaymc, Monday, 5 May 2008 04:24 (sixteen years ago) link


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