But personally I'd trust no organisation that conducted its normal communication in said font. Letters from a solicitor would not encourage me because they were in a font that said "hey! We don't take you seriously!" and you rarely see Comic Sans outside Fire Stations or doctor's surgeries.
Some more things that do not gain from the use of Comic Sans might include...
Death warrant of Charles I
Book of Lamentations
Warning signs
Gettysburg Address
I keep Jonathan Edwards sermon "sinners in the hands of an angry God" under my pillow in case I die in the night. It rocks in ComicSans:
ReplyDeleteThe God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell."
Every document I produce at work has to be in Comic Sans as someone there once heard the idea that its easier for people who don't read very well to read than proper type. If someone would like to come up with the idea that it's really hard for illiterate people to read I'd be more than grateful to have the justification to return to Arial.
ReplyDeleteFlora, this dyslexia website describes Comic Sans as "one of the more readable of the commonly-available Windows fonts". Which isn't an overwhelming endorsement. In fact the font they really seem to like is the same Trebuchet employed by this very oasis of fuzzy thinking. I think you may be suffering from someone with inverted snobbery.
ReplyDeleteIn Primary schools it is more or less compulsory, but not for educational reasons. It's the sense of enforced jollity which appeals to teachers.
ReplyDeleteI can confirm that Flora is not working for someone with inverted snobbery of any sort. I know several people who work with those who suffer from Downs Syndrome and other learning difficulties and they all recommend the use of Comic Sans font - a lot of it has to do with the shape of the 'a' and it's general simplicity rather than jollity. I tried to put this into practice with a lady in my homegroup who has learning difficulties but who desperately wants to share in the reading of the Bible though of necessity in short passages, and it really does work - she finds it easier when I print the passages in 14-16 point Comic Sans, and therefore feels more included as a 'proper Christian'. So please, keep using Comic Sans in the right places (I suspect my friend will not be reading a Jonathan Edwards sermon anytime - soon or otherwise!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your assistance. I guess that working in a centre for under fives means that I have to use the jolly letters as everyone knows under fives prefer Comic Sans and no communication really needs to be taken seriously. Trebuchet is rsther tempting though ..
ReplyDeleteIn my heady days working in university administration I used to on occasion be called in to run mail merges for the Dean's PA (since they were a bit beyond her).
ReplyDeleteFirst task was always to change the font from comic sans to something a bit more befitting a Deanly missive ... particularly the "Dear illustrious alumni, do please give your world-class old faculty some money" ones.
Stroke survivors with dysphasia (communication difficulties) also agree that comic sans is the easiest font to read.
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to decide how to present information to a wide range of people. In my work we have to communicate with stroke survivors with many different disabilities including vision problems, dysphasia and cognitive impairment. Comic sans helps some, as does using pictures alongside words.
Larger type helps some, but makes it more difficult for those with restricted visual field. Pictures may help, but other peopel find them insulting. Impossible to get it right for everyone!