Why to Hate Comic Sans (And other Typefaces)

Hello everyone! I'm currently studying Graphic Design in college and I've seen a lot of hate for Comic Sans around and people not understanding why, so I thought it was time to update everyone on the reason /why/ the world hates Comic Sans. I've also included a few others of note so you can broaden your hatred of certain typefaces.

But first, the number one reason these typefaces are hated is (drumroll please)inappropriate use! That's right, almost all these typefaces are despised because they were used poorly! Why would you use a curly girly script for a large corporate business? Or Comic Sans for that matter? Every typeface has its place!

But what's the difference between Font and Typeface?

Before I get into the good stuff, here's a quick little lesson on the difference between Font and Typeface. Some graphic designers are a stickler about the terms and may lash out at you if you use the wrong one, so here's the reason why!

Font is the physical embodiment of a collection of letters, numbers, symbols, etc. (whether it’s a case of metal pieces or a computer file)

Typeface is when referring to the design of the collection (the way it looks).

Nick Sherman used an interesting analogy in a comment on Typographica’s Our Favorite Typefaces of 2007:

The way I relate the difference between typeface and font to my students is by comparing them to songs and MP3s, respectively (or songs and CDs, if you prefer a physical metaphor).

Trajan

Here's one you might not have noticed. Trajan is disliked because it is grossly overused. Nearly every 'epic' movie title uses Trajan as their font. It's epic, but it's been beaten to death as a Typeface.

Papyrus

Another popular font disliked by Graphic Designers everywhere. As previously stated, this Typeface is used inappropriately/overused as well. It's designed to be an elegant Typeface that with accents of roman style characters with a calligraphy style, but it became wildly overused and therefore disliked.

Curlz

This one is a personal dislike of mine. I don't hear it talked about much, but I see this everywhere.

Curlz is very thin and hard to read, making it not a great Typeface in the first place. About the only places this should be used is for cupcake shops, baby shower invitations, and kids' clothing brands. It shouldn't be used outside of that.

Comic Sans

Ah, Comic Sans. The one everyone knows to hate. To start, I wanted to say the hatred of Comic Sans isn't an "internet thing". It's a Graphic Designer "thing" that the internet got ahold of.

Comic Sans is one of the most popular overused Typefaces. I can say from personal experience I've received an official document from my school all in Comic Sans. Comic Sans is for elementary school posters. That's it. Nowhere else. But because it's easily available on nearly all computers, people took a shine to it because it looks like a 'friendly' Typeface. No. It's not friendly if you aren't five years old.

For the full story take a look at this link: http://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fyti/typefaces/story-of-comic-sans
(Thanks to user poopworm for requesting more info!)

Thank you!

Thanks for reading! If you don't care about my little explanation, here's a cute kitten to brighten your day!

Also, I did just a few of the popular Typefaces that are disliked so as to not make this too long or boring!

Sources for info(And for further Typefaces to dislike):
http://fontfeed.com/archives/font-or-typeface/
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/12_most_overused_fonts_that_can_damage_your_brand__15945.aspx
http://www.ambilogo.com/15-fonts-designers-hate-and-why/
http://davidsivo.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/why-designers-hate-papyrus/