Monday, April 20, 2009

Comic Sans: The Font We Love to Hate

I got a big kick out of this article in the Wall Street Journal on Friday. It's the backstory behind the invention of the Comic Sans font, the clownish one that looks like, well, a comic book. I laughed to read all the strange places this font, which nobody can take seriously, has turned up.

To this day, people still use it on their resumes, and I can't imagine what they must be thinking:
  • Hire me, I'm friendly!
  • I laugh at you and your company.
  • It was either this or Times New Roman.
  • My emotional development stopped at age 9.
  • I am a clown-college graduate.
  • Working with me is like spending every day at Disney World!

I'm sure you can add to this list.

I hate to be elitist, but that font just doesn't send the right message in professional correspondence. I feel for the guy who invented it because he has to watch it be used in so many ways he never intended. Don't let your resume be one of them.

2 comments:

Laurence Shatkin said...

I use this font in the logo of my consulting business, Verbal Media, LLC. But if you view it, you'll notice that the font appears within a talk bubble--which is exactly where this it belongs.

Lori Cates Hand said...

That seems like an appropriate use, since it was designed for use in talk bubbles. Last night I also saw it in a children's book, Diary of a Worm, where it was also used for talk bubbles. :)