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If I had to make a list of things that fill my life with irrational vexation, the Comic Sans font would definitely be on it. Right next to that high-pitched whine CRT televisions make.
I’m not quite sure where my distaste for it originated, but my guess is it began while I was a teenager, when it haunted me in the form of the insufferable chain emails I received from my grandmother (you know, the ones with gratuitous amounts of emoticons, animated GIFs, and every idly threatening sentence ends with ribbons of exclamation marks). My aversion to the font only grew during high school, when graphic design became a hobby of mine. In college, it only took a couple of art classes before I transmogrified into complete font snob altogether.
When I first started listening to the streamable audiobook version ofJust My Type: a book about fonts by Simon Garfield during a commute to work one day, I would have asserted my feelings toward typeface aestheticism had changed very little. Now, nearly finished with the book, I can actually confess that I have a whole new perspective toward the variety of fonts I learned about in the past—yes, Comic Sans included.
With his book, Garfield shares with us…
- Undeniable proof that Helvetica has, indeed, taken over the world.
- How the decision to use Verdana caused an inapt controversy for IKEA.
- Why Vincent Connare is not the malevolent font designer he is often perceived as.
Just My Type is definitely a treat for those of us who enjoy learning the stories behind things we often take for granted. Check it out in print format, or enjoy the audiobook version through our latest e-content service, Hoopla.
