Nick's mention of Zapf Chancery prompted me to delve into the fonts folder and check it out, and taking my lack of font-knowledge into consideration, see if my brain would associate it subconsciously with the classic florist's sign. With assistance from my production manager (who has a considerably greater Adobe Illustrator knowledge than myself), we managed to whip up a quick florist's sign, just to prove how right Nick was.
Uncanny isn't it?
How many people judge a corporation or company on their font? I'm willing to argue that it's a pretty small percentage, until that is, the company decides to change font after about 50 years, then it's the talk of the town...
IKEA, renowned for their modern and affordable housewares decided to make a change to their catalogue font. They decided that after five decades of using Futura, a change was needed and went ahead with the switchover to the popular but generic font, Verdana. With this change came an uproar from the designers and critics of the web, and within hours of the news, Twitter was afloat with thousands of people angrily commenting on the debacle. Apparently, IKEA's reason was to change to Verdana so that their web based text and their catalogue text matched, but in doing so, they lost a large chunk of their brand identity.
The truth is, choosing a font wisely for a company's brand is essential to how the brand will be perceived. Old and traditional businesses tend to use Times and Baskerville to say, "We're traditional, we do it by the book and we're reliable." whereas more modern companies who want a cleaner image generally prefer to use Futura and Gill variations. Apple are a great example! Apple use the hard hitting, clean cut Myriad semibold pro for their advertising and marketing campaigns. It's sleek, chic and simple but remains stylish, which is cleverly echoed in their line of products.
As for the title of this entry, it obviously refers to possibly the world's most hated font. So hated in fact that there is a website dedicated to campaigning for a ban on it. When Andy and Tom jokingly suggested that Andy use Comic Sans on a logo design on Twitter this week, I laughed along with them in the knowledge that it's still very much a joke within the design industry. How long before the world realises? Not long I hope. The below image provides all you need to know;
It's now obvious to me that ironically, Comic Sans has become a joke in itself.
Nick
P.S - Unfortunately, there was no option to publish this post in Comic Sans, I'm terribly sorry.
IKEA, renowned for their modern and affordable housewares decided to make a change to their catalogue font. They decided that after five decades of using Futura, a change was needed and went ahead with the switchover to the popular but generic font, Verdana. With this change came an uproar from the designers and critics of the web, and within hours of the news, Twitter was afloat with thousands of people angrily commenting on the debacle. Apparently, IKEA's reason was to change to Verdana so that their web based text and their catalogue text matched, but in doing so, they lost a large chunk of their brand identity.
The truth is, choosing a font wisely for a company's brand is essential to how the brand will be perceived. Old and traditional businesses tend to use Times and Baskerville to say, "We're traditional, we do it by the book and we're reliable." whereas more modern companies who want a cleaner image generally prefer to use Futura and Gill variations. Apple are a great example! Apple use the hard hitting, clean cut Myriad semibold pro for their advertising and marketing campaigns. It's sleek, chic and simple but remains stylish, which is cleverly echoed in their line of products.
As for the title of this entry, it obviously refers to possibly the world's most hated font. So hated in fact that there is a website dedicated to campaigning for a ban on it. When Andy and Tom jokingly suggested that Andy use Comic Sans on a logo design on Twitter this week, I laughed along with them in the knowledge that it's still very much a joke within the design industry. How long before the world realises? Not long I hope. The below image provides all you need to know;
It's now obvious to me that ironically, Comic Sans has become a joke in itself.Nick
P.S - Unfortunately, there was no option to publish this post in Comic Sans, I'm terribly sorry.
I think there is a lot of mileage in this idea. So much is written about what colour means when it comes to choosing a scheme for your logo and branding - what we need now is a list of fonts and what kinds of image you can create with them. I write a lot of e-mails but rarely change the font for the purpose....Over to you!
ReplyDeleteThat's given me some thinking material. Thanks for the input Lucy! Just out of interest, what font do you use in your emails?
ReplyDeleteI've just read a full-length book printed entirely in Comic Sans. After the first annoyance I found it surprisingly easy to read, partly because the book itself was so moving. Perhaps the font is associated with the content (like your florist sign) so of you change the stereotypical content dramatically enough you will also shift the perception of the font.
ReplyDeleteFYI the book is "A most curious detour" by Stuart Hepburn
Statements like "the typeface has unfortunately been improperly used in countless context" is just the kind of snooty designer nonsense that makes my eyes roll. Improperly used? IT'S A FONT! I can use it however I damn well please. What kind of creatively stunted jackass would think that certain fonts should only be used in certain cases? The kind that only wants to churn out designs that are safely similar to everyone else's, that's who. That's like saying "only use slow motion in shots where the hero is jumping out of an explosion" or "only use the color red to denote danger". It's lazy, it's uncreative, and it's a design cop-out to make statements like that.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous :
ReplyDeleteDo you think a death notice in the local paper would be appropriate in Comic Sans? Obviously people can do what they like, but some things just aren’t appropriate.
Most normal people don't even think about the font that is used. If I did see an obituary typed in comic sans, it's likely that I wouldn't even notice.
ReplyDelete(This is not the same anonymous as the one above. I found this post after looking for an example of comic sans.)
I feel that for most people Font Type/Style works on a subconscious level affecting perception of an article, company or document. Along with colour and logo style, it evokes a feeling. In much the same way that many of us believe that we are unaffected by advertising, we clearly are.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous 8 January 2011 16:21: shame it's the same sort of people that are composing this kind of visual communication - people that "they don't even notice". I haven't see obituary notice in CS, but I did see an official court document as well as I know a claiming-to-be-prestigious pub with all their signage in CS. As a side note: the pub is hosted at Warsaw Intercontinental in the very center of the city. Over the years, I have found it very difficult to explain to people why CS is considered a lack of taste. The degree of difficulty comparable to that when you try to persuade a man not to wear white socks with black shoes (of which only Louis Armstrong could be forgiven).
ReplyDeleteSorry; I can't take that anti-Comic Sans sign seriously. Not because I don't agree, but because it contains the grammatically incorrect phrase "is comprised of." The meaning of the word 'comprise' is akin to 'embrace' -- therefore, the sentence does not make sense. The movement "is composed of" is correct; however, it would be better to keep the active voice and say "the movement comprises... ."
ReplyDeleteIt is not gramatically incorrect to say "is comprised of" by the way. "Is composed of" is not wrong, but wouldn't suit the context as well as the above. Yours sincerely, The Grammar Police;) Anyhow, back to fonts...
ReplyDeleteWithout Comic Sans we wouldn't have Sans from Undertale.
ReplyDelete