Comic Sans Doesn’t Deserve All The Hate
Comic Sans is both loved and hated the world over. It is one of the most recognisable fonts in the world and also the subject of many heated discussions. I wanted to look at why Comic Sans was created, how it came to be so popular, and why there is such a large amount of outrage towards the font.
The Origin Story
The font was created over 20 years ago by Vincent Connare in the early 90s. Connare devised the idea when reviewing the program Microsoft Bob, this program helped guide new users through the Windows’ operating system. A cartoon dog would appear on screen and use speech bubbles to communicate with the user, taking them through the system. When Connare reviewed Microsoft Bob he noticed an odd font choice for the speech bubbles.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, Connare said the cartoon dog; “talked in a speech balloon like you would get in a newspaper cartoon strip, but it was in the system font Times New Roman. I thought, ‘That’s silly. Dogs don’t talk like that.’ So I said it would look better if it looked like a comic book.”
He reviewed the handwritten font style of popular comic books such as Watchman and The Dark Knight Returns and thought this would be a more suitable font style to use. Instead of directly copying the comic book font, he chose to create a new font; Comic Sans. The font was created digitally, no sketches or studies, and was completed within three days.
Unfortunately, the font wasn’t integrated into Microsoft Bob in time and was left out. However, it was picked-up internally by Microsoft’s office administrators who used it in their emails. These administrators organised birthday parties as well as other events and Comic Sans fitted with their cheery messages.
As the popularity of Comic Sans grew within the Microsoft office, it was eventually included in the Windows 95 operating system and unleashed to the world.
“It’s almost an anti-technology typeface: very casual, very welcoming. It’s like going home, back to your childhood, getting letters from family members.”
The Love For Comic Sans
As Windows 95 spread across the globe, so did Comic Sans. It was available to anyone with a PC and was quickly utilised for a variety of purposes, no matter how appropriate. It was used in schools, featured on restaurant menus, and even used for warning signs. Comic Sans became ubiquitous and grew to become one of the most recognisable fonts in the world.
Connare never intended for Comic Sans to become so popular. Its popularity grew not because of a Microsoft marketing campaign, but because people wanted to use it.
It’s almost an anti-technology typeface: very casual, very welcoming. It’s like going home, back to your childhood, getting letters from family members. Or somebody might use it to get away from the staid environment of their work. When you use Comic Sans, you’re making a statement: “I’m more relaxed, more creative. I may be working in this area, but this job does not define me.” Tom Stephens stated in an interview with The Guardian
Some teachers have even defended Comic Sans’ use in school as children find it easier to read. There is no scientific basis for this claim however, but the theory is a child is more likely to read the words if they’re written in Comic Sans.
The font has even been credited as having huge benefits for dyslexic readers, for handwriting, and for reading in general. However, it might not be that simple, in a TES article, Professor John Stein stated the following: “It’s a complicated subject. The short answer is that the only things that really help dyslexics are larger letters and wider letter and word spacing. Sans serif, monospaced and Roman sans serif are probably best for dyslexics. Italic is the worst . But italic ‘dysfluent’ fonts slow down everyone, yet everyone, including dyslexics, tends to remember the content better because they’ve had to concentrate more.”
“Type should do exactly what it’s intended to do. That’s why I’m proud of Comic Sans. It was for novice computer users and it succeeded with that market. People use it inappropriately: if they don’t understand how type works, it won’t have any power or meaning to them.”
The Misuse
While Comic Sans may be appropriate in a handful of circumstances. All too often it is used as a warning or safety notice. This is where the friendly, relaxed personality of Comic Sans conveys a mixed message to the reader and can have some humorous results.
A prime example would be when CERN used Comics Sans in a slideshow about the Higgs Boson. An official CERN document prominently featured a font that is also used to advertise children’s birthday parties. This ‘blunder’ resulted in a raucous debate over twitter, with many arguments for and against the use of the font.
“If you love it, you don’t know much about typography, and if you hate Comic Sans you don’t know very much about typography either, and you should probably get another hobby.”
All fonts have a personality and a purpose, it’s up to the user to recognise that personality and use it appropriately. The font itself is not the issue; it is its misuse. Comic Sans is best suited for promoting kids’ birthday parties, not to advertise a law firm. The misuse of Comic Sans is a good example of how the way you communicate is just as, if not more, important that what you said. However, I don’t believe it deserves the level of anger it receives, as Vincent Connare put it; “If you love it, you don’t know much about typography, and if you hate Comic Sans you don’t know very much about typography either, and you should probably get another hobby”.
The Designer Hate
Designers are taught the intricacies of good design, and once your eyes are opened to this way of seeing things, it can’t be undone. I went through this at university; bad font choices, odd colours, and poorly thought through concepts, I started seeing bad design choices everywhere.
The spread of Comic Sans is the result of the spread of good technology. Anyone with a computer can create a poster in minutes, oblivious to the fundamental design rules, not thinking about the way their design will be received by the audience. This is what intimidates designers and makes them cringe.
My Thoughts
I’m more fascinated with the public use of Comic Sans than the font itself. Some people love the font and use it whenever they can, designers despise the font with such passion some have even created a movement to ban Comic Sans from being used (it’s worth noting they asked for Vincent Connare’s permission before creating the website).
The typographic fundamentals of Comic Sans are very poor, but it was never intended to be used so widely. It was designed to be featured on screen only, on a Windows 95 program. Comic Sans is a mediocre font, used incorrectly on a massive scale. It was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
What do you think? Should Comic Sans be banned from all personal computers, or should we accept its popularity?
