» Monday Rant #3 – R.I.P. Comic Sans advertising/design goodness – advertising and design blog: The best ads & designs and sometimes the worst around the globe.

Do you guys all smell that? The air smells sweeter.
Do you hear that sound? That’s the sound of birds chirping.

That’s right. And do you know why? That’s because I (unofficially) declare today the day that Comic Sans finally dies. This calls for a celebration! I’m going to go out and buy myself the most expensive box of wine that money can buy!

Honestly, is there a commercialized typeface more annoying than that of Comic Sans? In short, the answer is no. How do I draw such a conclusion? I will answer that question with another question: Can you honestly take someone who uses Comic Sans seriously? Not on my watch. That’s also why I can’t wait to become a teacher. Rule #1: Any student who hands in their homework assignments in Comic Sans is going to fail; whilst suffering serious trauma to the head and torso. I’ll be a local hero. Rule #2: No fat chicks.

I could never date a girl who liberally uses Comic Sans – no matter how long her hair is. And if I found out that any family member or close friend even thought of using Comic Sans, I would force them to stand in the corner and take their own life. For that is the way of the samurai. But that is another story for another day.

Comic Sans, www.bancomicsans.com, box of wine

Anna Goodson Management

Get your ad here for 30 days, for a ridiculous price.

23 responded to this post

Anonymous said on November 6th, 2005

sadly, our firm does a lot of direct mail for politicians (thank god for the off season when we actually get to design decent stuff) and the candidates often ask for comic sans specifically!!! it will never truly die as long as the masses continue to embrace crap design.

Anonymous said on November 6th, 2005

i believe you mean that you “could never date a girl who liberally uses Comic Sans”

JÃ¸rgen Arnor GÃ¥rdsÃ¸ Lom said on November 6th, 2005

…But what kind of sick person lets their client use Comic Sans?! From now on, if a client asks me for Comic Sans, I’ll say it’s dead and cannot be used anymore!

Yhank you very, very much!!!

RUDE said on November 7th, 2005

Listen to this (Its gonna hurt everybody): Here in Spain, someguy used Comic Sans for the auxiliar text in the Sin City posters. Argggggg!!!

Marketingblogger said on November 7th, 2005

On Friday an order confirmation came out of the fax machine in our office – completely written in Comic Sans. It looked really unprofessional just because of the font. And it didn’t come from a small backyard company …

Anonymous said on November 7th, 2005

I like fat chicks

parasight said on November 7th, 2005

Amen!

john said on November 7th, 2005

Comic Sans should die, I agree.

With it please take the typeface that I hate most… SAND!!!

The Management said on November 7th, 2005

I second the SAND destruction.

Anonymous said on November 7th, 2005

Sadly, research shows that Comic Sans is the most readily available, readable typeface for dyslexics – it has an asymmetric design that makes character shapes easier to differentiate. (Lexia Readable takes Comin Sans and tries to improve it and not lose the readability but it is still pretty ugly)

beth said on November 7th, 2005

I actually had a client request I use Comic Sans. I told them I wouldn’t be the right designer for their project.

Anonymous said on November 7th, 2005

Comic Sans is only *excusable* if you’re under the age of ten. Basically, it’s pretending to be a kid’s handwriting.

When I surf the Internet, I leave a site when I see that it uses Comic Sans. It’s horribly unprofessional-looking.

Giuliano said on November 7th, 2005

Great idea!

Dragan said on November 7th, 2005

haha now thats a good rant kenny

although im a little concerned what would we do if we wanted to make a project look very unprofessional nothing does it quite like comicsans

if i wanted to have childish writing in a project well, i would just use actual childs writing at least they dont have insaine creative fees

my god i did once see a whole page set in comic sans
my eyes and brain are still recovering

Kenny Bania - The Freshmaker said on November 7th, 2005

on a side note…

what is your guy’s favorite typeface to use? who is your favorite typeographer (if you have one)?

i like erik spiekermann. very outspoken and entertaining. clean, simple typefaces. always trying to do more.

and i like the officina family.

abie rose said on November 7th, 2005

I could not agree more! Comic Sans is by far the most annoying, disgusting, childish font I’ve ever seen. Thanks for reminding me of my hatred for it and for deciding the death of it (unofficially). Too funny

The Masked Marauder said on November 9th, 2005

Yes. Horrible if you’re trying to design a high-end site for some classy gents’ outfitters. But! If you need a font that’s easily legible for young children, or that fits the needs of pre-school education, then it has a use. Not every project is an icon of cool. Design over style = use and context over mere appearance…

http://www.jellyandbean.co.uk/

(Not saying its a very good site, but comic sans fits the context)

Nedra Zeall said on November 22nd, 2005

I don’t understand why people hate Comic Sans so much.

Jagan Mohan said on December 2nd, 2005

I don’t have a driver’s license for the past 7 years since my old one expired.

The reason?

The Government Form is in Comic Sans and as a act of civil disobedience, I refuse to fill it.

Viva the revolution against the tyranny of the Comic Sans!

K said on December 7th, 2005

Believe it or not, Comic Sans is the font used by more than one researcher at my university for their presentation posters.

!!!

Anonymous, got a reference for that study about Comic Sans and Dyslexia? I’d love to read it!

Anonymous said on December 8th, 2005

There was a great tear-out page in issue 19 of Cabinet magazine. It was a tounge-in-cheek “grassroots” flyer you were supposed to photocopy and put up at gyms and colleges to get people to subscribe to Cabinet. It even had hand-written tear-offs at the bottom.

What else could it be in besides comic sans?

There’s a time and place for everything. Times new roman just wouldn’t have done it as nicely.

Ben Guernsey said on December 22nd, 2005

This movement has already begun. Check out: http://www.bancomicsans.com

aen said on January 11th, 2006

Check this out. It’s from a study done at Wichita State University.

Legibility: The most legible fonts were Arial, Courier, and Verdana. Comic Sans was found to be the most illegible of the eight fonts evaluated.

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol6/usability_no17.htm

Go Back To Home Branded Body Art | WWF Outdoor