BackEYE SPY: Sans comedy
The world's most hated font recently threw the newspaper industry in a tizzy
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Even those who are unable tell the difference between Times New Roman and Georgia are likely to notice a passage set in Comic Sans—arguably, the world’s ugliest font. Created by Vincent Connaire in 1994 (he was then an in-house designer with Microsoft), the typeface is meant to be used, as its name suggests, in light-hearted situations. In reality, it appears ubiquitously—from high school essays to pamphlets to raise awareness about cancer—usually enraging millions across the planet.
On public platforms, it is almost always used derogatorily. On April 1 this year, CERN, the nuclear research organization, announced that henceforth all its official communications will be set in this font–of course, as an April Fools’ Day joke! (Apparently, if you change your font to Comic Sans on Skype, the emoticon in the chat box turns into a sad face.)
Its most recent use was on the front-page of the Sydney Morning Herald, the oldest newspaper in Australia, when it was put inside two speech bubbles to quote characters who appear in a story on the leaking of confidential state documents. The editorial intention, evidently, was to highlight sarcasm, though the effect it had on the Internet was unexpectedly hysterical. Or maybe not.
Legions of Comic Sans haters pounced on the Sydney Morning Herald on social media, and it was ridiculed, mocked, and derided for hours on end. (In case you are wondering if all this fuss was worth it, take a look at what the Internet will look like if it were entirely set in Comic Sans.)
Since its conception, Comic Sans has invited the wrath of the majority. There is a movement to ban it, which is not as facetious as it may sound. Founded by a husband-wife duo, this project aims to obliterate Comic Sans not simply because it is an aesthetic abomination but also because its existence is sheer affront to the exquisite art of typography. “Early type designing and setting was so laborious that it is a blasphemy to the history of the craft that any fool can sit down at their personal computer and design their own typeface," says the Ban Comic Sans manifesto.
The loathing for Comic Sans is indeed serious business, taking up substantial chunks of time and energy. Go here to know more about this silent revolution’s long and troubled history. Unlikely as it may seem, Comic Sans also has a loyal band of defenders. It has been scientifically proven that when students are asked to read a passage set in a “disfluent" font like Comic Sans, they are likely to pay more attention to it. Of course, there is an equal chance that they will switch off and race through it quickly, much to the detriment of their cognitive powers.
There are others who simply feel that the “much-maligned font needs a hug" and so they sing its praises. Finally, and mercifully, there is a school of thought that suggests that there are worthier and weightier matters to rebel about than a poor font.
A fortnightly look at the world of arts, from close and afar.
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