Comic Sans
 | |
| Category | Script |
|---|---|
| Designer(s) | Vincent Connare |
| Foundry | Microsoft |
 | |
| Sample | |
Comic Sans is a digital typeface from Microsoft Corporation designed to imitate comic book lettering, for use in casual and informal settings. It was designed by in-house designer Vincent Connare in 1994, and a font has been shipped with Microsoft Windows since the introduction of Windows 95, initially as a supplemental font in the Windows Plus Pack. It has since become one of the most popular Microsoft system fonts. Comic Sans is used in both print and webcomics as a substitute for hand-lettering, although many comic artists prefer to use custom-designed computer fonts instead.
History
Microsoft designer Vincent Connare says that he began work on Comic Sans in October of 1994. Connare had already created a number of 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. 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, picked it up. The speech eventually became true voice, 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.
Criticism
Because of its ubiquitous use, Comic Sans has become the subject of a campaign by designers to eliminate its use, on the grounds that (as typographic purists claim) it is poorly designed and that its inclusion in the Microsoft system fonts package lends itself to inappropriate use—for example, as a text face in documents or at large sizes in signage.
Some font designers say that the typeface is poorly drawn, virtually equal weight being given to the downstrokes and horizontals, and little thought given to the kerning between character pairs, eliminating any of the informal characteristics of true hand-drawn lettering.
In his defense, Connare claims that it was not originally designed as a typeface, but as a solution to the problem of finding a font suitable for the packaging of children’s software. An example of the informal nature of the font can be found in the euro symbol (€), which in some versions has an “eye” cut out of the serif at the top, making the symbol appear to have something of a “face.”
Notable usages
- It was used as the font for the text inside the tags of Beanie Babies.
- It is also the main font in The Sims.
References
- Connare, Vincent. “Comic Sans Background Information.” Comic Sans Café.
- Connare, Vincent. “Why Comic Sans?”
See also
External links
- Comic Sans MS font information (Microsoft typography)
- Comic Sans Café (Microsoft typography)
- Downloadable version of Comic Sans MS for Windows (Core fonts for the Web)
- Ban Comic Sans campaign
- Une Monde Sans Comic Sans, a discussion group
- Ban Comic Sans Petition