Font choice is matter of taste as well as functionality, and most designers carry around a list of fonts that are so visually or functionally offensive it’s almost physically painful. I share that pain, and, thanks to modern technology, so can you! Here’s my personal gallery of horrors…
Comic Sans
No ‘worst fonts of all time’ article could be complete without this. Yes, you knew it would be here, so let’s get it over with. Designed in the mid 90s and included as a system font with computers ever since, Comic Sans (in its place) could have been just about bareable – were it not for everyone on earth using it for anything and everything to show how much ‘fun’ they are, regardless of the document’s context. Comic Sans has reached the point where it is synonimous with pure, undiluted evil. Avoid at all costs…
Alternatives include: Flash, Balloon, Dom Casual, One Stroke Script and Marker Felt.
Papyrus
Another font that tends to be found in default computer systems, Papyrus is designed to look as though it is written on the ancient material after which it is named. It is, perhaps, not the font itself that hurts, so much as the overwhelming use of it in the wrong context. This faux ‘egyptian’ style face tends to be used whenever a non-typography obsessive (aka: a normal person) wishes to convey mystery, a generic ‘ancient’ feel, or even new age medicene and eastern yoga. It is none of these things. Please don’t do it.
Alternatives include: hard to say; it depends what you’re trying to communicate…
Brush Script
Why people opt for this font is a mystery to me; what does it say to the reader? Is it casual, posh, friendly – I can’t figure it out. Again, it’s a font who’s paltry charm has been crushed by overkill. It has to be said, there’s no shortage of far more legible and attractive script fonts out there, in all manner of styles, both commercial and free.
Alternatives include: Bello, Bready, Eclat, Lobster, Thirsty Script and many others.
Jokerman
Another of those ‘hillarious’ fun fonts, Jokerman is anything but. Where do I begin? Cheap, ugly, hard to read – I can’t recall a single design situation where Jokerman could possibly be appropriate. Even Comic Sans can find a place in an infant’s ABC book, but not this monstrosity. Avoid it. In fact, if this font lives in your system, stop reading this and uninstall it, then go and sit in the corner for a while and think about what you’ve been doing…
Alternatives include: Cavalier, Daisy, EdPS-Interlock, Harlem and many others.
Showcard Gothic
While it is clearly possible to make ‘zany’ fun typefaces, a casual surf of the web will reveal that quality in this style is rather sparse. Showcard Gothic feels like Comic Sans’ mutant half brother who is kept locked in the attic. Using it will upset the cosmic balance of nature.
Alternatives include: (giving up design for another career…)
Interestingly, in 2011 Monotype released Comic Sans Pro. Yes, I’m not making it up, it’s a real thing – if you’re not of a nervous disposition, have a look here…
I’m sure at least one or two of the classics in this list has clawed it’s way onto your personal nightmare list. Do you know any that hurt more than these? Don’t suffer in silence, let us know via our Facebook page – after all, a problem shared is a problem halved.