Interesting read. Comic Sans is a preferred font for many with dyslexia. To deny its effects and mock it is ableist. I never knew this. (But then, I like CS. It amuses me with its light-hearted appeal. But it's "not professional" and I would never use it in a professional setting. That impact hurts those with dyslexia who use it.)
Comic Sans is used a lot in the classroom specifically for the purpose of being easier to read for many students, including those with dyslexia. My son has dyslexia and when we were first going through remedial reading instruction, I often printed passages in Comic Sans. It was easier for him. Now he's able to navigate most type fonts.
I don't think it's a professional typeface but I don't have a problem with it.
Honestly, I'm an Helvetica fan. So clean. So linear.
I was happy to see that our default report font (based on the template I put together when I started here) is also on the list of relatively acceptable fonts.
I had never heard this, but it makes perfect sense
They will pry Times New Roman from my cold dead English teacher hands.
I hate reading all the fonts that are listed as helpful for dyslexics. If it helps people, awesome, for real. I just hate reading those fonts. I wonder why.
The article lists other fonts that are good choices - Arial, Century Gothic, Calibri. All of which are more professional looking than Comic Sans (which even the title is a dead giveaway that it shouldn't be used in a professional setting). I can understand using Comic Sans with children. But past that...
That being said, my students do a lot of work on their phones with online platforms, and one girl has her whole phone platform in Comic Sans. It's almost impossible to read (the phone is tiny!).
Comic Sans is used a lot in the classroom specifically for the purpose of being easier to read for many students, including those with dyslexia. My son has dyslexia and when we were first going through remedial reading instruction, I often printed passages in Comic Sans. It was easier for him. Now he's able to navigate most type fonts.
I don't think it's a professional typeface but I don't have a problem with it.
Honestly, I'm an Helvetica fan. So clean. So linear.
IME, it’s the preferred font for early childhood because the a is similar to how children are taught to write it. I used it for everything I posted around my pre-k room.
What I thought was *really* interesting (and overlooked I think) was the use of colored paper. I know that even though I'm not dyslexic I've printed on colored papers or changed background colors and typeface to white on-screen to make reading easier in the past.
For anyone who loves a good font fight, check out this SNL video about Papyrus, LOL
Many years ago I went to some sort of a business/professional talk, and we could sign up for a free book from the author and the first 10-15 people would get one. I was like #20 or something so I didn't get one at the talk, but he contacted me after and said I could have a book in exchange for a review, and I said sure.
I got the book and it was printed in Papyrus.
I read about 3 pages, went WTF, stopped reading it, and he never got his book review.
Meh, this is a very broad assertion without much evidence.
gatekeepers of graphic-design decency routinely mock those who use it as artistically stunted and uneducated
For one, "graphic-design decency" is more than some arbitrary whims. Part of good design is about making things better: clearer, easier, more accessible. And things like fonts are carefully chosen for specific reasons.
A font can help set the tone of a piece. A font may need to be available in multiple languages. A font may need to work across various formats - sizes ranging from billboards to postage stamps. Different fonts perform differently on screen vs. on paper. And think of all the screen formats we are dealing with now: televisions, large monitors, tablets, phablets, phones, watches, all with different resolutions. One person's colored paper solution, resulting in lower contrast, is another person's problem. Web accessibility guidelines are mainly concerned with contrast issues and color (for color blindness).
Comic sans has a goofy look and thus sets a goofy tone. It may be best for some individuals, but it is not considered to be a legible font for the general public. Judging by the list of fonts presented in that post, I don't think we've had enough progress on fonts specifically designed to help people with dyslexia and there are some issues brought up in there that are being used to justify comic sans when there could be better solutions. For example, there are eleventy billion fonts in existence and I'm sure there is a combination that could swap in for comic sans without messing up formatting.
In general, I am here. I think it's something of a stretch to say disliking one particular font means you're an ableist. On the British dyslexia society page it even said that there are people with dyslexia who hate comic sans. So what does that make them?
Though web accessibility guidelines are much, much more than just contrast issues. I'm not sure where people get that idea.
That said, I think it brings up a section of accessibility that many web designers haven't thought about. We versions of our website translated into different languages, we should be looking at building an "accessibility" css that would allow people to over-ride our font choices/sizes/etc. if they need to do so to read our site. It wouldn't be hard, it would just require extra effort. I mean, yes I could do that by adjusting my browser settings but a) That puts the burden on the user and b) often seriously impacts the design and legibility anyway (because kerning, differences in what 12px means from to font, etc.). We can design for this the way we design for responsive sites.
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Ugh. Comic Sans. I have students who type everything in CS because it helps their dyslexia. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch for me to ask them to change the font when they are finished. I recognize this works for typed paragraphs and essays and might not work for a graphic design element.
Comic Sans is used a lot in the classroom specifically for the purpose of being easier to read for many students, including those with dyslexia. My son has dyslexia and when we were first going through remedial reading instruction, I often printed passages in Comic Sans. It was easier for him. Now he's able to navigate most type fonts.
I don't think it's a professional typeface but I don't have a problem with it.
Honestly, I'm an Helvetica fan. So clean. So linear.
I use it in my class bc I know it's easier for kids with dyslexia. I wouldn't use it professionally but it has a place, damnit!
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
What I thought was *really* interesting (and overlooked I think) was the use of colored paper. I know that even though I'm not dyslexic I've printed on colored papers or changed background colors and typeface to white on-screen to make reading easier in the past.
A student told me this once - she had something where the letters jumped off the page in black and white (she used to tell me the letters were moving around). Colored paper made all the difference.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
This is a little bit of an aside, but this is one of the reasons we push so hard for faculty to let go of their love of PDFs. While it IS possible to change the font in a PDF, most students don't know how to or have the software to. If we offer documents in Word format, it's easy for them to make it work for them.
“With sorrow—for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection—we dissent,”
Huh. And here I though serif fonts were better for printed materials (whereas sans serif fonts on dark backgrounds are better for presentations).
Yes. For most people, the serifs guide your eyes across the page making it easier read smoothly and quickly. For someone with dyslexia, that smooth sliding past letters is part of the problem. Fonts which make you read more slowly, that stop you at each letter help.
I am not one of those people who knows all the different fonts. But when I started my new assignment everything was in Comic Sans. I was like what in the fresh hell is this? I didn't even know it was Comic Sans I just knew I couldn't stand looking at in on everything. Over the next few months I proceeded to change the font on everything.