Designers give Comic Sans an edge
Who knew actively and openly despising a font could actually help you build credibility as a hipster? Turns out the cool kids are two steps ahead on this one… and their vote decided long ago that the “world’s most reviled” font just happens to be Comic Sans.
According to a article, the hate grew as too many users chose Comic Sans, a light and fun font, for serious projects such as warning labels, headstones, and police memos on how to report rape and sexual assault. Plenty of people take these transgressions seriously. The aforementioned article inspired 25 comments and a heated debate on the subject. Google “why do people hate Comic Sans” and you’ll find comicsanscriminal.com (outlining the font’s history and guidelines for use), (complete with hilarious Weird Al Yankovic video referencing the font), and many more articles and websites devoted to this touchy topic.
Comic Spurs is a response to the “Ban Comic Sans” movement. From brett jordan.
On the flip side, search “defenders of Comic Sans” and there’s material here, too. Comic Sans Project offers suggested (and presumably appropriate) uses for the font. CreativePro.com takes a look at both sides of the issue—and the inherent humor in the debate. Even The Onion is in on it, with a parody news report on why Comic Sans makes even serious and dull messages so hilarious.
It’s that humor designers Michael Kleinman and Declan Joseph Byrnes-Enoch, of the fictional James H. Goldberg Deskwear Collection, tapped into when they created a twist on Comic Sans, dubbed Comic Spurs. It’s basically Comic Sans with spurs attached, giving the original childish type an edgier feel—while also poking fun at itself as a design.
Kleinman and Byrnes-Enoch weren’t actually inspired so much by the debate over whether Comic Sans should die. Rather, they noticed Comic Sans is often chosen because it looks hand-drawn. And spurs are used to make other typefaces appear similarly authentic. Combining these two fake-outs, they created Comic Spurs to draw attention to a contemptible design trend.
What’s really funny, though, is that their new font is available to anyone who’d like to download it here. Warning: Use of Comic Spurs could make you the subject of ridicule in the form of online comments from haters with only a tenuous grasp of the skills required to enter intelligent public debate.
Please use Comic Spurs with caution—and only in the ironic fashion its designers intended.
