by James Hardy

Technophobia: Why Comic Sans should be banned

Technophobia is a column by James Hardy. Views expressed are not necessarily those of Digixav.

Comic Sans MS was deplorably brought to life in 1994, and is probably the worst thing Microsoft has ever given this world – and yes, that includes Internet Explorer.

Gwargh!

Even ironically typing this article in the font in Microsoft Word made me wretch.

I think the problem I have with Comic Sans is that it is actually used. A LOT. Comic Sans should be used on invites to kids parties.

AND NOTHING ELSE.

Normal fonts – Arial, Helvetica, Ubuntu etc. – have an air of slick sophistication about them. Comic Sans just asks you to make it multi-coloured. Please no. Please, please no. There is nothing worse than a sign written in multi-coloured Comic Sans.

Some fonts annoy me. No one uses Times New Roman unless they haven’t worked out how to change the default font. And excessively fancy swirly ones like Jokerman or Curlz MT are written by annoying people. The same people who use every single fucking entrance and exit effect possible in PowerPoint presentations.

But nothing comes close to Comic Sans. It is untouchable in its title of THE WORST FUCKING FONT IN THE WORLD. Thinking about it makes my stomach turn.

And Comic Sans is used in the most inappropriate of situations. I saw a few posters recently written in the font. One was about drug use. The other was highlighting the problem of domestic violence. It has even been used on gravestones. Fail much?

And then there is this one:

I feel that behind every notice written in Comic Sans is built up anger. Behind some innocuous notice like ‘Please dispose of your cups in the bins provided!’ written in the typeface, there is someone pulsating with rage, probably thinking something along the lines of:

Why the fuck are these wankers unable to make use of the bins I have fucking put out for them‽

Yep, Comic Sans says that. With flowers on. Using Comic Sans is like coming to a funeral in a pink bikini. That’s not how the world works!

What really pisses me off are those teachers who insist on writing EVERYTHING in the font. Yes, Mr. Mulae, I’m talking about you.

As for the websites which are entirely in the typeface, they are probably the leading cause of suicides in the country. Fortunately, for Safari users, some genius has made an extension which changes all pages in Comic Sans to a font of your choice. But I can’t afford an Apple, so I’m stuck with sites like Languages Online which try to be really friendly and happy and rainbows and butterflies and IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY!

For more information on how I feel, visit bancomicsans.com and like Ban Comic Sans on Facebook.

So, next time you type something, unless it is a school fair poster, a notice on a parish church, or perhaps a souvenir beach towel from Barcelona, avoid Comic Sans at all costs.

Please, think of the kittens.

50 Comments

  1. It is just a font. How can it be so annoying. I agree it is not great and can be really inappropriate but it is not as bad as people who say GIF ( lol 🙂 ). Also, I don’t see what’s wrong with Times New Roman.

    1. It is fucking annoying. It looks hideous, and, when you have a primary school teacher who won’t mark any work if it’s not in Comic Sans, you get very close to slitting your wrists. And don’t even get me started on Times New Roman.

      1. I sort of get Comic Sans. But I don’t see what’s wrong with TNR. It isn’t my prefered font but WHAT IS WRONG WITH IT??? It’s just a standard serif font.

        1. I can’t stand serif fonts, and TNR is boring as hell. Prior to Office 2007, it was just a sign of somebody who didn’t know how to use a computer and just stuck with the default because drop-down menus scared the shit out of them. It also looks so ancient, even compared to other serif fonts.

          1. Boring? – It is a font for work. If you are making a poster etc. then fair enough. If you are typing something as work it is fine. Anyway, isn’t you favourite website, The Verge, in serif font???

  2. “Even ironically typing this article in the font is making me wretch. I’ll change it to something normal. Like Helvetica. I’ll change it back at the end.”

    You need to edit this

        1. checking back on it, you still haven’t done it properly.

          “Even ironically typing this article in the font is made me wretch.”

          Or is this meant to be implying writing ABOUT comic sans rather than USING comic sans?

  3. Funny article, but I have to disagree! Every font which is used for the wrong purpose can turn out ugly; I’m sure that most typefaces would look hideous in multicolours. Every font would look horrible as a TOYS ‘R’ US sign!
    Comic Sans is one of the most legible typfaces for people with some learning difficulites, as well as it being good for use in teaching.
    As for Times New Roman – there’s a reason for it being a deafult typeface – because it’s flippin’ good!

  4. OK, fair comment, almost all fonts look bad in multi-colours but IMRHO Comic Sans is by far the worst I have ever had the misfortune to have to use.

    Now I understand [from your website] that you know a lot about how aesthetically pleasing fonts can be, but there are defiantly some fonts that do not look good, no mater what their use and both Comic and Times are good examples of this.

    Also, may I ask exactly why Comic Sans is supposedly good for teaching? I have never understood why so many teachers in both primary and secondary schools insist on it’s use and TBH I would quite like to know.

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