Have you been harmed by a bad use of typeface (or what’s more colloquially referred to as “font”)? You’re probably not qualified for compensation, however, you might get a kick out of this. Rapper, Heavy Metal vocalist, and actor Ice T posted a Facebook-style image-with-text tweet reading, “The illusion of ‘options’ really got ya’ll out here fumbling genuine people.”
Unfortunately, this “BONUS COLD FACT” has yet to be decrypted, because before anyone could explain, one reply caught Ice T’s attention.
While I’m more curious-not-curious about what Ice T was referring to, Marty was right. “Impact” would’ve been a better font choice, as Comic Sans was definitely undermining the message. Created by Vincent Connare and published by Microsoft in 1994, the font has been ridiculed since the dawn of the internet.
While Comic Sans was intended to attract children to learn on the computer, organizations often misuse the child-like font for serious purposes. This has made the typeface a laughing stock. Some graphic design professors threaten that any assignments turned in with Comic Sans get an automatic letter grade deduction. Its disdain is ubiquitous. Marty appeared to bother the Law & Order: SVU regular.
The feeling was mutual for many that saw this tweet. One person even shared a manifesto of internet legend, I’m Comic Sans, Asshole by Mike Lacher. The iconic 2012 article (with some cringe ableism) begins: “Listen up. I know the shit you’ve been saying behind my back. You think I’m stupid. You think I’m immature. You think I’m a malformed, pathetic excuse for a font. Well think again, nerdhole, because I’m Comic Sans, and I’m the best thing to happen to typography since Johannes fucking Gutenberg.”
Even people who understand the value of typography in communicating an idea chimed in.
My favorite reaction was just people sharing some interesting fonts. I can’t tell you how many times I started a project and was derailed by the plethora of type (letter) options. I mentally store themes away for later before ultimately using them for the wrong project because I’m so impatient.
Papyrus enters the chat
One of the best replies was uncaptioned and sought to stir the pot with the second most infamous font, Papyrus. The image shared silently alludes to a 2017 SNL skit where Ryan Gosling was haunted by James Cameron‘s typeface choice for one of the most profitable films of all time—Avatar. This is Marty and I til the day we die.
(featured image: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
