F**k Comic Sans
Ivan | Wed, 2009-05-20 17:09
There is much protest going on against Comic Sans, a font created by Microsoft in 1995. Originally it was designed for comic book style talk bubbles containing informational help text. Since that time the typeface has been used in countless contexts from restaurant signage to college exams to medical information.
This font is nearly every time out of place. It is responsible for a big chunk of the widespread visual pollution that is going on our cities today.
To hate is easy, so instead of just talking type designer Hannes von Döhren created a free alternative to Comic Sans.
The difference: It has serifs and a much cooler look. The big success of the HVD Comic Serif pushed Von Döhren to create a Pro Version with an eastern, central and Western European language support. “The HVD Comic Serif should spread all over and make the world a little bit better.” says Hannes.
See the HVD Comic Serif font in use.
Commenting on this Blog entry is closed.
Comic Serif... sounds like a bad idea, but the product is actually almost palatable!
"Good design is obvious. Great design is transparent."
— Joe Sparano
"Good design is obvious. Great design is transparent."
— Joe Sparano
Great article, Ivan.
I'm not a fan of Comic Sans, but I like the alternate typeface.
I would posit that all typefaces have their place, though, given the proper context. Even Comic Sans. For instance, I could see Comic Sans (with some alteration) working nicely as a logo for a clown that entertains kids at birthday parties.
Craig Michael Patrick
http://cmpatrick.com
i would argue that any font that comes with an operating system or MS office by default would not work well for a logo. just by virtue of the fact that everyone has that font. the ubiquity of the font makes it less suitable for a logo, which should be more unique.
It uses Trebuchet.
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it does? when did trebuchet get square dots on the "i"? looks more like a modified frutiger to me.
The counters in the b and the a are all wrong, and so is the angle of the arm of the r.
I'd go with the modified Frutiger or possibly Franklin Gothic?
You're correct, in the past it used to be Trebuchet. But I changed it a year or so ago to a modified Myriad Pro Bold.
:-)
That would be a difficult argument to make were this an open debate. Typeface arms and legs can be manipulated to allow for the creation of a truly unique approach to logo design regardless of ubiquity.
Speaking for myself, ubiquity of the face is largely irrelevant. It's the thinking behind the logo, the nuance, the concept, the layer of meaning behind the typeface that offers true gratification (both emotionally and financially).
Craig Michael Patrick
http://cmpatrick.com
Why do you Mac people have such potty mouths?
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Urghhhh, i'm not a design but personally I hate comic sans all the way.