Author Topic: More Comic Sans (Read 6378 times)

Lady Montagu · « **on:** July 11, 2005, 10:20:38 AM »

I got a flyer for a conference this weekend from church.

It was in Comic Sans. Thought y'all should know.

Jonathon · « **Reply #1 on:** July 11, 2005, 10:32:28 AM »

In our last ward, the font of choice was Dauphin (which I find to be an unforgivably ugly font). At least they had enough taste to avoid Comic Sans, I guess.

The worst part, though, was the haphazard mix of underlining, bold, and italics. Pick one and stick with it! You don't need two or three ways of making text stand out, and you don't need to make all the text stand out, either.

Primal Curve · « **Reply #2 on:** July 11, 2005, 03:42:43 PM »

Jonathon · « **Reply #3 on:** July 11, 2005, 03:45:40 PM »

Yes, unfortunately.

Primal Curve · « **Reply #4 on:** July 11, 2005, 03:49:55 PM »

It's very Riverdance.

Jonathon · « **Reply #5 on:** July 11, 2005, 03:53:02 PM »

It's annoying. Half the letters are straight up and down, and half are all angled and swoopy. I especially hate the y.

rivka · « **Reply #6 on:** July 11, 2005, 05:07:46 PM »

I rather like it, but only when it is used sparingly. Used all the time, it would grate rapidly.

weezer · « **Reply #7 on:** July 11, 2005, 05:11:01 PM »

You mean "it would great rapidly."

Primal Curve · « **Reply #8 on:** July 11, 2005, 09:10:28 PM »

scottneb · « **Reply #9 on:** July 11, 2005, 09:35:43 PM »

Is that anything like knighting weezer?

[edit] Stupid question marks keep gettin' away.

weezer · « **Reply #10 on:** July 11, 2005, 10:22:06 PM »

You guys keep putting the e in the wrong place!

Ela · « **Reply #11 on:** July 25, 2005, 09:49:41 AM »

Why do people find Comic Sans so offensive?

My daughter happens to like it, so I'm just curious.

Jonathon · « **Reply #12 on:** July 25, 2005, 09:54:37 AM »

Because people use it WAY too much. I'm going to make my flyer/ad/term paper/business card fun and original by using Comic Sans, just like everyone else!

Plus, I just don't think it's a very attractive or well-designed font.

Ela · « **Reply #13 on:** July 25, 2005, 09:59:06 AM »

Eh, it's not terrible either. I've seen much worse.

Jonathon · « **Reply #14 on:** July 25, 2005, 10:04:27 AM »

Yes, there are definitely far worse fonts, but since it's so overused, it starts to really grate (or great if you're weezer).

Doorknob · « **Reply #15 on:** July 25, 2005, 10:04:28 AM »

I confess to using it once in a publication. I didn't know any better. It was an amateur mistake... but I was an amateur.

I've never done it again.

AJ

Jonathon · « **Reply #16 on:** July 25, 2005, 10:05:22 AM »

It's alright, AJ. We've all been there before. The important thing is that you've overcome the sins of your youth.

TheTick · « **Reply #17 on:** July 28, 2005, 03:15:56 PM »

What not to do on your business webpage

I especially like "Serving Mapland Customers since 1993". It should be followed by "Website not updated since 1995".

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #18 on:** July 28, 2005, 03:22:00 PM »

Ooh. I like the waving American flag. That adds a great effect.

TheTick · « **Reply #19 on:** July 28, 2005, 03:25:00 PM »

That meets their animated gif requirement for bad webpages. They are probably only lacking midi music.

Jonathon · « **Reply #20 on:** July 28, 2005, 03:26:58 PM »

Oooh . . . a hit counter and links to compatible web browsers. Classy. I also like the alternate text for the "logo"—mapping. It's so simple yet absolutely true.

Jonathon · « **Reply #21 on:** July 28, 2005, 03:30:25 PM »

Here's another winner.

"Light Years Ahead." Catchy slogan. Too bad the design is a decade out of date. The bad gif of the SR-71 Blackbird is a classy touch, too. Did the CEO's ten-year-old son pick out the corporate symbol?

Porter · « **Reply #22 on:** July 28, 2005, 10:41:40 PM »

Quote

Why do people find Comic Sans so offensive?

Nothing but snobbery.

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #23 on:** July 29, 2005, 07:46:12 AM »

It's not just snobbery. There are a lot of people who have years of training in fine art and visual design who make a living doing visual layout who are having a hard time finding a good job. The market has been thrown into turmoil these past few years since the advent of desktop publishing.

There are all kinds of upstart businessmen in my rural area, for instance, who discovered that they can print things out at home and so started charging people for graphic and website design, while giving them an inferior product. I suppose you could claim that the market demand was great enough and that people are willing to pay them so there's no problem, but a lot of times business owners are not knowledgable about what looks good and what is the most effective advertising, and so they hire someone, trusting that they know what they're doing.

It may not matter to the desktop artist that his Comic Sans looks juvenile and unprofessional, and it may not matter to his client. Neither of them may know the difference. But the larger market knows. People in larger cities will automatically recognize the business as small-town and naive, and even those customers who don't know much about advertising art can tell the difference between what's been professionally done and what hasn't.

So it's not the typeface itself; (though Microsoft fonts are made inexact and approximate because they're intended for word processing and not printing) it's the aspirations to professionalism that people who have no experience are assuming. I don't really care if I get a flyer passed to me on the street that's in Comic Sans. I do care when I see vinyl lettering on a delivery truck that I know someone paid good money to an established sign business for.

Porter · « **Reply #24 on:** July 29, 2005, 10:03:16 PM »

Quote

It may not matter to the desktop artist that his Comic Sans looks juvenile and unprofessional, and it may not matter to his client. Neither of them may know the difference. But the larger market knows. People in larger cities will automatically recognize the business as small-town and naive, and even those customers who don't know much about advertising art can tell the difference between what's been professionally done and what hasn't.

I am unconvinced that this is true. Sure, people trained as you have been can tell the difference, but if everybody could tell the difference, then so could the people making and buying the crappy signs.