Comic Sans is 'the best font in the world'
At WIRED 2015, Comic Sans designer Vincent Connare defends his controversial typeface.
There are few things typographers agree on, however a general loathing of Comic Sans appears to be one of them. But speaking at WIRED 2015, the creator of Comic Sans argues that it's not just one of the best free fonts out there, but the best ever.
"Twenty years ago, I made the best font in the world," says Vincent Connare, the man responsible for the divisive typeface. He goes on to explain that his creation dates back to 1993, when he needed a typeface for a talking cartoon dog application called Microsoft Bob.
Vincent's logic was "comic characters can't talk in [Times New Roman]," so he set about creating what would become Comic Sans. Along the way he was inspired by the work of Dave Gibbons, the artist behind cult graphic novel hits like Watchmen.
However, when Gibbons gave us his opinion of Comic Sans in an exclusive interview, it was less than favourable.
"You can get so many much better fonts than Comic Sans, I guess it's just that it came bundled with every PC that meant that it was the choice when you wanted to do something a little bit jokey or hand-done. But oh, it is an awful font."
So what do you think? Is Comic Sans ever excusable? Did Vincent succeed in making the perfect font for a talking dog? Or should we turn our backs on Comic Sans forever? Let us know in the comments!
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Dom Carter is a freelance writer who specialises in art and design. Formerly a staff writer for Creative Bloq, his work has also appeared on Creative Boom and in the pages of ImagineFX, Computer Arts, 3D World, and .net. He has been a D&AD New Blood judge, and has a particular interest in picture books.