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Dirt: Comic stans
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Dirt: Comic stans

A perfectly imperfect font.

Dirt
Jan 26
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Dirt: Comic stans
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Dirt is a daily email about entertainment.

Tyler Bainbridge on misunderstood typeface, Comic Sans.

IP OTW

The things we like and dislike say a lot about us, and in some cases, everything about us.

For instance, if you feel your blood pressure rise when you see Comic Sans or think it's hilarious to crack jokes about the typeface, perhaps you think making fun of Nickelback (hint: they rock) is the funniest thing in the world or you call yourself an aesthete and proudly display a carefully curated selection of untouched books on typography.

Comic Sans

Comic Sans tragically became a meme in the aughts and was increasingly difficult to find outside of school rooms, flyers in coffee shops, strip mall signs, or diner menus, aka the best resources for design inspiration, but that’s a post for another day. According to an extremely scientific Twitter poll I found, 44% of teachers still use the typeface in their teaching materials. If only that trick worked in college, I probably wouldn’t have dropped out.

Twitter avatar for @jamiebgoldenJamie B. Golden @jamiebgolden
Instagram proving they can be just as toxic as Facebook by adding Comic Sans to their font options.

August 4th 2020

45 Retweets520 Likes

In 2020, Instagram may have accidentally kicked off the typeface's second wind when Comic Sans esq font was added to their "stories" feature.  Millennial designers everywhere wept. However, it's since become the go-to choice for "online" & y2k-presenting young people on the app. The “wired headphones” of fonts, if you will.

Of course Comic Sans is a bit goofy, and there are real problems with its design, but I can’t help that I love it! The typeface's fun look and history of being taken a bit too seriously by squares even made it the ideal choice for my newsletter, Perfectly Imperfect.

A compilation of Perfectly Imperfect graphics.

This wasn't really by design, but that decision became a powerful litmus test. Comic Sans is a protective shield against people who don't "get it" and clearly communicates that above all, our newsletter is imperfect. And for everyone else, there are plenty of other “serious” recommendation sources with cool branding.

The Dirt: Make the internet fun again. Embrace cringe and camp. Use Comic Sans!

**DIRT CLASSIFIEDS**

► Des Femmes is a community-driven media project that publishes an annual print magazine and leverages a variety of software tools to increase the power of the young women in the community through more money and, therefore, more freedom of choice. 

Des Femmes is building a professional network that empowers young women to become kickass leaders and innovators in traditionally male-dominated fields. It accomplishes this by helping young women meet like-minded mentors and colleagues, via both online and in-person events, and empowers its members by highlighting their successes within Des Femmes’s media projects.

If you are interested in learning more about [or joining!!!] the community, we encourage you to check out their newsletter or give them a follow on Twitter. 

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