Type Casting — or: The Comic Sans of Errors
Typefaces resemble actors. Helvetica is Tom Hanks. But who is Comic Sans?
A common question in my first-year design seminars is also a popular question in the design community: ‘Why is Comic Sans considered such a bad typeface?’
Discussing typefaces with people who have just started to learn and practice design is tricky. There are good and bad typefaces. But there are also personal preferences and aversions. For a teacher—and a professional designer—it is important to differentiate the two correctly.
Obvious criteria for good typefaces are consistency, efficiency, elegance, versatility, and robustness. It is important to learn about the functional and aesthetic qualities of letters as well as the production quality of a typeface. Students and professional designers should be able to judge typefaces based on these criteria.
But choosing a typeface is not just pragmatic. As with so many other things, there are also personal favorites and dislikes. To be clear: Bad type does not suddenly become great just because you think it is ‘cool.’ But to choose between all the quality typefaces out there, you need more than technical specifications. You need taste and a sense of style.
