This morning we had a thought-provoking presentation about one of the most controversial yet most used fonts. Comic Sans has been used by most in an uplifting way, as it differs from your standard fonts. Today, Ollie wanted to challenge whether the creation of Comic Sans was a success or not.
Who is Vincent Connare?
Vincent Connare was one of the early pioneers of digital typeface design, working on fonts for Agfa and Apple in the early 1990s before joining Microsoft, where he designed both the web-friendly Trebuchet font family and the now infamous Comic Sans MS.
If you love it, you don’t know much about typography. And if you hate it, you don’t know much about typography either and you should get another hobby.”
Vincent Connare
Why was Comic Sans was invented?
Comic Sans was designed because when Vincent was working at Microsoft. He received a beta version of Microsoft Bob, a comic software package that had a dog called Rover at the beginning. Vincent was tasked with creating a new font to replace Times New Roman that appeared in a popout balloon that appeared above Rover.
The font everyone loves to hate
Comic Sans was NOT only designed as a typeface but as a solution to a problem with the often overlooked part of a computer program’s user interface.
There was no intention to include the font in any applications other than those designed for children when Vincent designed Comic Sans. The motivation to create the typeface came when he was shocked by seeing Times New Roman used inappropriately.
Because it’s sometimes better than Times New Roman, that’s why.
Vincent Connare
Comic Sans takes the world media by storm in 2009
Copy Cats
Comic Helvetica – an Unholy Combo of Comic Sans and Helvetica
Comic Helvetic is an experimental project inspired by Comic Sans and Helvetica. Comic Helvetic was created for a cartoon dog named Hover.
Comic Sans and Helvetica still elicit strong reactions on their own, in the new combination both for sure stir up some drama in the design community.
Conclusion by GEO
At GEO, we all agreed that Comic Sans is a successful font, as it has left a positive mark on the world outside of the design industry. The irregularity of its composition and the variation in letter height also makes it particularly legible for those who suffer from reading difficulties. The British Dyslexia Association recommends Comic Sans in their style guides for dyslexia-friendly text speaks for itself.
Unfortunately, it is still one font the design industry will choose not to use as many other fonts offer the same benefits and even more character. We will enjoy celebrating why it was first created but will promise not to sneak it into any projects.
The final reason to love Comic Sans — if you don’t already by now — is that it has its own “day”.