A Letter To 3M & Those Who Use Comic Sans

I have been reflecting on my purpose as a designer lately. 

Born an artist, I was privileged to have a creative mind that allowed me to see the world differently from many others. I was always curious as to why things happened the way they did and what are other possibilities. 

Growing up, I have always wanted to work at 3M as my maternal grandfather, Jack (John) Cashman, was a regional district sales manager in NYC until he passed away at a young age in the early 80s. He did everything for everyone he crossed paths with, despite not having much himself––he always wanted others to have more. 

He was the embodiment of what our world's leaders should be–selfless, honest, and willing to do the work. I dream of following in his footsteps to help 3M solve challenges that will positively impact everyone, regardless of race, gender, orientation, nor creed.  

I want to use my skills to dismantle broken systems that allow people to fall through the cracks. I feel that 3M shares this ideology with me, and that together, we can build a world that functions the same for everyone. It is time for us to put people and planet before profit. 

That is why I felt compelled to question why they would provide only one font option on their innovative Post It app. Notably, one that looks just like Comic Sans and can only remind me of all the pain and suffering I endure as a designer and those before me.

Is it possible or on the product roadmap to include more font options for users? As you may or may not know, visual designers can have visceral reactions to fonts, based on a positive or negative experience they or peers may share. 

I fully support any font and any one's right to use whichever fonts they believe to be worthy of communicating their thoughts and feelings. I can also empathize with the anger and frustration in response to reading, seeing, and even being paid to use Comic Sans at home, school, and in my workplace. 

No matter how uncomfortable the presence of Comic Sans makes me, I can only control my perception and how that influences my decision when choosing a font. However, after only having and witnessing negative experiences with Comic Sans, I can no longer partake in support of its usage. This usage applies to the entire communications ecosystem, its many actors, and its guiding principles of how storytelling inspires action. 

In my opinion, Comic Sans is a disgrace to the font community and a visual design crisis. The subjectiveness of typography allows fonts like Comic Sans to benefit from a system that places an imaginary divide between how we think, feel, and appropriate fonts on signs, clothing, and our screens. Before Comic Sans, designers did not even have to consider the types of fonts and how they are used or treated. 

Those educated in typography styles know the rational reasons why Comic Sans does not work. Those who did not experience, nor learn about the principles of typography––and that to design is to provide function, not flair––believe that Comic Sans is 'fun' and 'cool,' like a party where everyone is having a 'fun' and 'cool' time. 

Comic Sans is not a 'fun' or 'cool' font at all, because its underlying principles do not function in its intended environment. The Fun & Cool Party Crew can claim that they do not see or hear what my fellow designers and I see and hear, but they cannot claim that they have the self-awareness to understand which fonts work for all applications. 

I cannot make assumptions and would not want to accuse 3M of using Comic Sans, or a similar 'fun' and 'cool' font, for their Post It app default text style. I only want to understand why we must continue to use a font that does not serve its users or the environment that it lives. 

I empathize with the Fun & Cool Party Crew when they say all fonts matter. I understand where your opinion is coming from, and I plead that you educate yourselves on the principles of design when it comes to choosing fonts that will contribute to the visual storytelling in this world. 

I will ask and so desperately hope that everyone who has ever used Comic Sans or even thought of using Comic Sans to challenge why they love using a font that has the power to create a visceral reaction based on the shared suffering of designers? 

Do you fear that if Comic Sans went away, there would be no other fonts available? 

Do you fear that if Comic Sans went away, so will the 'fun' and 'cool' party that you and your friends have become accustomed too?

Or instead of the party going away, possibly designers may want to participate in the 'fun' or may also wish to feel 'cool'?

Or are you afraid that if Comic Sans went away, it would then challenge you to choose a font on your own that may get an adverse reaction by those who see it? 

Can we agree that it should not matter how others perceive us, but how we see ourselves?

If you are opposed to doing away with Comic Sans, can you please tell me why you think that keeping this font is essential? Please include references to how Comic Sans benefits designers when you do so that I can learn more from your perspective! I might be a designer myself, but as I mentioned, I respect and tolerate all people and perceptions. 

Please take a few minutes to ask yourself why you believe that that the use of Comic Sans is beneficial when it has caused decades of pain to those who did not ask to see or read it. Did you do it? Great! Now ask yourself, "Why?" again five times to get to the root of your reasoning. Can you share a reference to the rationale?

If you are unable to take a few minutes and question your core beliefs, and if my experience as a designer and human does not resonate with your own story of abuse, invalidation, oppression, or the fear of change or discomfort. Then please take the time to ask a designer if they would be willing to share their experience.

I will not assume, but I hope what you will hear is a shared experience of suffering that unifies all living bodies on this planet. 

We could learn from each other if we shared our fears instead of using them as weapons of power. If we took the time to ask ourselves what different fonts are out there or possibly what fonts could we build so that everyone can have 'fun' and feel 'cool.'

I have witnessed the pain of designers like me, around me, and those who have lived before me. It is challenging to understand why Comic Sans is so prevalent in a society built on intention and storytelling. 

I hope that if we can better understand one another and why we choose the fonts we use to tell stories, then we can spare future generations of designers the abuse that makes both them and their allies so uncomfortable today. If we are all uncomfortable, then we can truly empathize and design new fonts that make everyone feel seen & heard.  

We all deserve to use the fonts that best serve our story. If it makes you uncomfortable to think of new fonts or learn design principles, then ask any designer to help! We know how crazy life can be––and that we all will never know what tomorrow may bring. 

If we share our fears, maybe we will realize that our perception of tomorrow does not have to be influenced by our opinion today. Our experiences of the past or the stories that shaped our beliefs are stories. 

When Vincent Connare created Comic Sans, I am sure that as a designer, he knew that his vocation was to do less with more. Art can speak, and art can sell, but to design is to render with intent. 

I cannot form an unbiased opinion on Vincent's intention to create the font, Comic Sans. I can only do my due diligence of using the abilities I have to challenge my assumptions and seek out the facts.

"Comic Sans MS is a sans-serif casual script typeface designed by Vincent Connare and released in 1994 by Microsoft Corporation. It is a non-connecting script inspired by comic book lettering, intended for use in informal documents and children's materials." – Wikipedia

We owe it to ourselves to understand how our nurturing can impact our nature. If we apply antiquated tools and systems to our communications and stories, they will break down. Worse, our intention will end up falling through the cracks. 

Comic Sans is not a good or bad font, but it serves a purpose, and the breakdown in communication over time has distorted that. 

I have not had the chance to meet or talk to Vincent Connare but based on a quick Google search, and I know he intended never to cause suffering to designers through the misuse of his design. 

Doctors and nurses dedicate their lives to heal, and police officers swear an oath to serve and protect. A designer's vocation is to question everything, to render with intent, and to think of all of the possible fonts that exist or do not exist today. 

Designers know that it takes all backgrounds and skillsets in finding a solution for all. We received the training, and our sole pursuit is to do the work.

Acknowledging my situation may seem silly to those who do not share the same perspective to me, and albeit trivial, the process I took to understand why it exists allowed me to find that Comic Sans' design serves a particular purpose.

The intention, however, has been appropriated by those who cannot understand why it exists or why it can make some feel fun and cool and others to feel discomfort. And the problem is that there is no side because if we all did the work to embrace empathy and diversity, we would be able to build a new world.

I know that my privilege protects me from discomfort through a system that allows people like me to succeed and others to fall through the cracks where they aren't seen and heard. I empathize and want to do the work so that I can help others.

I want to use my skills to make the world a better place. That is why I learned how systems work so I could dismantle and design new ones. 

I learned that creativity was fun and cool. I switched the tape to learn that creativity is an innate gift to those born in a system of fear, but taught love so that we can connect the dots and build our sustainable world together. 

If you believe that your glass is half full, you are doing the work already.