Sans Comic Sans:
Font Trends
& Their Haters
When I started self-publishing three years ago, I pored over different fonts and chose Comic Sans for my book covers. I expected my prospective readers to belong to the age group 8-12, and felt that the slightly ungainly, casual, and even a little weird font would go well with them. Moreover, the remnant of the child in me responded to it. I especially liked the paunchy ‘D’ and the lollipop ‘Q’.
Some months later I came across a scathing comment about the font. The writer called it the lemonade stand font and other derogatory names, and concluded with the statement that it was the worst font ever created. So much antipathy for a mere font? He wasn't alone. There were, and are, communities trying to wipe Comic Sans from the face of the planet.
Judging by the comments, this homely and handwritten looking font, which looked liberating and fun to me, was the equivalent of a deadly virus that had to be destroyed. It was childish, infantile, showed bad taste, branded the person using it as shallow and empty headed, and so on.
Judging by the comments, this homely and handwritten looking font, which looked liberating and fun to me, was the equivalent of a deadly virus that had to be destroyed. It was childish, infantile, showed bad taste, branded the person using it as shallow and empty headed, and so on.
Designed as a child oriented font by Microsoft
for some of its applications in 1994, Comic Sans has been extensively used for almost everything. It is a very popular font. We see it on birthday cards, billboards, hotel menus, even office menus. It just doesn't go away. It is like the tune stuck in the head. Maybe that is why people started hating it.
It wouldn't have mattered if it was not so distinctive. There are other fonts we see every day, like Times New Roman, but they don't stick out. Most fonts don’t. But Comic Sans is like a happy shout and when it is used outside a funeral home, it jars.
.jpg)
Amidst the shouts for Comic Sans abolishment, a new font has emerged: Comic Neue. It’s tagline is ‘Make your Lemonade Stand look like a Fortune 500 company,’ and it claims to be an informal font without the wonkiness of Comic Sans.
Where am I going with all this? If you're popular, people will hate you or too much of a good thing is bad? No one likes too much personality?
Cheetaka, Queen of Giants is available as an ebook on amazon, smashwords, apple, and other ebook stores. The paperback edition will be released by May 15, 2015.
It wouldn't have mattered if it was not so distinctive. There are other fonts we see every day, like Times New Roman, but they don't stick out. Most fonts don’t. But Comic Sans is like a happy shout and when it is used outside a funeral home, it jars.
.jpg)
Where am I going with all this? If you're popular, people will hate you or too much of a good thing is bad? No one likes too much personality?
Perhaps the lesson I learnt is one should use things in proper context. If Comic Sans had been confined to child-related writings and products, this endearing font would continue to be the confident choice of many users. Or I am trying to show how the wheel can always be reinvented – Comic Neue from Comic Sans.
None of the above. My point is it’s tough being an indie writer and taking care of everything from editing, designing, marketing. It’s so easy to make a mistake. Because of my font choice, my book cover screamed amateur, and perhaps empty-headed-writer as well.
If you can afford professional help, it's better not to scrimp. If you are on a tight budget, don't jump at the first designer who offers a $10 dollar cover. Chances are the cover will not stand out. If you must do your own covers, take your time over them, look at other covers, market trends, funky fonts. Check if the fonts are free for commercial use.
No one ever said self-publishing would be easy. Sorry, they did? Oh yeah! That animated gentleman on amazon kdp! What can I say? I believed him, too.
Gita V. Reddy is the author of the Middle Grade Fantasy, Cheetaka, Queen of Giants, three other
novels, eight chapter books, and three short story collections.
None of the above. My point is it’s tough being an indie writer and taking care of everything from editing, designing, marketing. It’s so easy to make a mistake. Because of my font choice, my book cover screamed amateur, and perhaps empty-headed-writer as well.
If you can afford professional help, it's better not to scrimp. If you are on a tight budget, don't jump at the first designer who offers a $10 dollar cover. Chances are the cover will not stand out. If you must do your own covers, take your time over them, look at other covers, market trends, funky fonts. Check if the fonts are free for commercial use.
No one ever said self-publishing would be easy. Sorry, they did? Oh yeah! That animated gentleman on amazon kdp! What can I say? I believed him, too.
About the Author
Cheetaka, Queen of Giants is available as an ebook on amazon, smashwords, apple, and other ebook stores. The paperback edition will be released by May 15, 2015.
Unfortunate as it is, packaging is what life's about - not merit. Take Avengers Age of Ultron, or The Force Awakens, as examples. What if Age of Ultron were criticised, on the basis that its supporting characters weren't adequate, or that the film's format ratio wasn't either, or its midpoint set-piece, and the same with TFA?
ReplyDeleteThe thousands of news articles, bill board ads, talk show interviews, toys, posters vs millions of people, deciding not to see either movie because of some trivial technicality.
And yet.. Gita has felt the need to talk about trivial technicality! I haven't read her book, but I imagine it's reasonably good - so why should there be the double standard? Why should Gita have to be concerned with a trivial technicality, but not Kevin Feige, or Kathleen Kennedy?
Above all, it's for this reason that I now don't feel bothered when an agent rejects me - The Representative is too good for their industry!
I think you're right, it's not fair. I think in the beginning a writer writes for themselves. however, eventually, we all want someone to read our work. Unfortunately, appealing to the masses is necessary; depending on on how much exposure you want.
DeleteA lovely post indeed. I'm very invested in fonts too :) They can make all the difference. On bad days when I can't quite get my writing on, changing the font helps! I don't like the traditional, boring ones, and I always switch between the quirky ones.
Delete
DeleteBut, at the same time, there's no reality to what I've just said.. Blockbusters like TFA, or AuO are essential parts of our consumer world, and, rightly or wrongly, they're the kind of products that help to keep us functioning.
If you challenge AoU, you then have to challenge Eddie Murphy's The Golden Child, or Sky's Penny Dreadful, or Stallone's Rocky III, or The Matrix and so on.
The Rocky series has helped me, the past few months; I've watched the series, almost fanatically, equating Rocky's obstacles with my own mental ones.
But what if I apply to these movies, the same attitude that I've applied to AoU, or to TFA? All those minutes, all those moments and moments of being mentally helped, by the narrative I'm watching on screen - all taken away, because of some hard-line stance.
The same applies to sports, or theatre, or to tv or books or video games - we're not monthly, or weekly creatures, but 24 hour creatures.
They're not demons, Feige or Kennedy. Rather, they're just pragmatic solutions to humanity's problematic reality: we have too long to exist!
That's why I want everyone's hand in the air, simultaneously, reached out for the sun! It can the Queen of Norway, it can be Feige himself, or it can be Amber Peat, the girl whose body was found this week, in the UK (it doesn't just have to be the living, who get added to the list that I'm producing).
With everyone's hand raised, the answer can then come about what to do next.. Can we transcend, all of us, or do we simply have to continue navigating our way through time, relying on products such as AoU, or TFA?
Every human being represents each a trillion facets, not just millions or even billions: a trillion facets, per person!
I can incorporate every person's trillion facets.. British politicians. This website. The residents of California. North Carolina. The economy of China. The IMF. The people of AMC Movie Talk, or of ITV's This Morning. The wives of American soldiers. The children of South Sudan. EastEnders. The people who are late for work, driving on the motorway.. All of reality's facets, in all of its trillions and its trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions of functioning parts.
Believe in The Representative, and believe in me Aimee!
I agree. people are like their own individual universes. Amazing
DeleteAimee, thank you for publishing my post on your wonderful blog. Ramona, I agree with you. Fonts are fun!
ReplyDeleteAnytime, Gita. I love your writing.
Delete