Comic Sans MS, commonly referred to as Comic Sans, is a sans-serif casual script typeface designed by Vincent Connare and released in 1994 by Microsoft Corporation. It is classified as a casual, non-connecting script for use in informal documents inspired by comic book lettering.
The typeface has been supplied with Microsoft Windows since the introduction of Windows 95, initially as a supplemental font in the Windows Plus Pack and later in Microsoft Comic Chat. Describing it, Microsoft has explained that "this casual but legible face has proved very popular with a wide variety of people."
The typeface's widespread use, often in situations for which it was not intended, has been criticized.
History
Microsoft designer Vincent Connare began work on Comic Sans in October 1994. Connare had already created child-oriented fonts for various applications, so when he saw a beta version of Microsoft Bob that used Times New Roman in the word balloons of cartoon characters, he decided to create a new face based on the lettering style of comic books he had in his office, specifically The Dark Knight Returns (lettered by John Costanza) and Watchmen (lettered by Dave Gibbons).
He completed the face too late for inclusion in MS Bob, but the programmers of Microsoft 3D Movie Maker, which also used cartoon guides and speech bubbles, began to use it. The speech bubbles eventually were phased out and replaced by actual sound, but Comic Sans stayed for the program’s pop-up windows and help sections. The typeface later shipped with the Windows 95 Plus! Pack. It then became a standard font for the OEM version of Windows 95. Finally, the font became one of the default fonts for Microsoft Publisher and Microsoft Internet Explorer. The font is also used in Microsoft Comic Chat, which was released in 1996 with Internet Explorer 3.0.
Comic Sans Pro (2011)
Originally appearing as part of Ascender 2010 Font Pack as Comic Sans 2010, Comic Sans Pro is a commercial variant designed by Terrance Weinzierl from Monotype Imaging. It added italic variants of the original fonts for a total of 4 fonts, extra ornaments and symbols including speech bubbles, onomatopoeia and dingbats.
OpenType features included ligatures, lining figures, localized forms, old style figures, proportional figures, tabular figures, swash, small capitals, stylistic alternates, stylistic sets (1-3).
The italic fonts later appeared in Windows 8.
Reception
The typeface became very popular and achieved widespread use. It has been criticized by several designers due to its widespread use, often in situations where it was not intended.
Opposition
The Boston Phoenix reported on disgruntlement over the widespread use of the font, especially its incongruous use for writing on serious subjects, with the complaints urged on by a campaign started by two Indianapolis graphic designers, Dave and Holly Combs, via their website "Ban Comic Sans". The movement was conceived in 1999 by the two designers, after an employer insisted that one of them use Comic Sans in a children's museum exhibit, and in early 2009, the movement was "stronger now than ever". The web site's main argument is that a typeface should match the tone of its text, and that the irreverence of Comic Sans is often at odds with a serious message, such as a "do not enter" sign.
In the 2005 session of the youth model parliament in Ontario, the New Democratic Party included the clause "Ban the font known as Comic Sans" in an omnibus ban bill.
Comic book artist Dave Gibbons, whose work was one of the inspirations for the font, said that it was "a shame they couldn't have used just the original font, because [Comic Sans] is a real mess. I think it's a particularly ugly letter form."
Film producer and New York Times essayist Errol Morris wrote in an August 2012 posting, "The conscious awareness of Comic Sans promotes â€" at least among some people â€" contempt and summary dismissal." With the help of a professor, he conducted an online experiment and found that Comic Sans, in comparison to five other fonts (Baskerville, Helvetica, Georgia, Trebuchet MS, and Computer Modern), makes readers slightly less likely to believe that a statement they are reading is true.
Celebration
In the Netherlands popular radio DJs Coen Swijnenberg and Sander Lantinga decided to celebrate the font by having a Comic Sans day on the first Friday of July. Comic Sans Day has been held since 2009. Some Dutch companies have their website in Comic Sans on this day.
Notable uses
A 2010 Princeton University study involving presenting students with text in a font slightly more difficult to read found that they consistently retained more information from material displayed in so-called disfluent or ugly fonts (Monotype Corsiva, Haettenschweiler, Comic Sans Italicized were used) than in a simple, more readable font such as Arial.
During the summer of 2010, NBA superstar LeBron James left his former team at the time, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in a highly publicized media affair. The majority owner of the team (at the time), Dan Gilbert, reacted by posting a (ranting) letter to Cavalier fans. One of the ways the letter was heavily derided was for its use of Comic Sans font.
In April 2014, OpenBSD announced the LibreSSL project, claiming to have been the first to "weaponize" Comic Sans as a means for soliciting donations.
See also
- Chalkboard (typeface)
- Comic Neue
- Core fonts for the Web
- Kristen (typeface)
- Papyrus (typeface)
- Waltograph
References
Further reading
Comic Sans Pro
- Linotype page
- Terrance Weinzierl page
