Comic Sans: Sans Purpose.

I’d like to think that as a student of advertising with some graphics experience, I have somewhat of an eye for design. And yet, I know a lot of my notions about visuals aren’t just from education. A lot of people can tell you something generally looks good (or especially, bad) without any sort of formal training. This then begs the question, why does Comic Sans exist?

Comic Sans has been a default Microsoft font since Windows 95. It was developed by Vincent Connare, an early Microsoft programmer/designer who was distraught when he saw a comic strip that used Times New Roman for the dialogue. He sought out to create a more fun, cartoony font. The monster he created became arguably the worst typeface for 99% of type, projects, and signage.

“What’s so bad about it,” you might ask? “I think it’s whimsical!”

Try reading an entire paragraph, or an entire page in Comic Sans. Even better, go for the all popular ALL CAPS COMIC SANS. The strokes are too fat, the letters and the spacing are uneven, and extensive exposure to this immature little font has been known to cause retinal bleeding in adults and pose a threat of birth defects to pregnant women.

If you want your restaurant/auto repair shop/day care to look like it’s owned by a six year old, buy some big neon Comic Sans signage.



Tom Fauls, associate professor of advertising at BU, has said:

“Good typography should be like a wonderful clear crystal goblet that holds wine, much better than a golden goblet that has jewels on the outside because the point of the crystal goblet is that you can see the wine that’s inside, you can appreciate the colors…”

Going on that metaphor, if good typography is a crystal chalice, Comic Sans is a lime green tippy cup you find under the couch when you move your furniture, when you haven’t had young children in 17 years, that still has a little chocolate milk in it from its last use.

Just about nothing looks appropriate in Comic Sans. Many people who would claim to having little to no design experience could spot the problems here:



Needless to say, you can’t be taken seriously if you choose to use this font for just about anything. That is why I’m calling for a personal boycott on any business caught patronizing Mr. Connare’s wonderfont. If you don’t show the creativity or effort to pick out a font that isn’t Comic Sans, I’m no longer going to trust you with my business.

I have been beaten to this cause by the website bancomicsans.com The creators took up their cause in 2002 to get the font removed from the defaults in Microsoft programs, and have a massive online petition. As much as I fear that their signatures will fall on deaf ears (as they have thus far), I only hope to spread their message in the hopes that people can gain a tiny little bit of an eye for design and some self respect and stop using Comic Sans.

Or else...


Please.