Modern Life - Comments on '5 Terrible Fonts You Shouldn't Use in Print Design'

Charles wrote:

Tue, 08 May 2007 18:11:28 +0100

Courier always reminds me of sending a job to the printer and forgetting to include the fonts. Still gives me chills!

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wrote:

Mon, 07 May 2007 05:54:18 +0100

@Stuart Brown,
Thanks for that explanation, though I was hoping for something more technical it'll do.

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BMB wrote:

Thu, 03 May 2007 01:33:57 +0100

Don't forget that any font that's strictly a pre-set outline/white fill (yet no option for solid fill, italics or bold is offered too) is really annoying. If one is truely a graphic designer, then use the design programs to force an outline on a solid font.

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Matt wrote:

Wed, 02 May 2007 21:58:54 +0100

I have to disagree with Century Gothic... that's a great type style! The rest do suck, though.

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Stuart Brown wrote:

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:33:40 +0100

Aye, the reason Arial sucks for print is that there's a *very* good alternative...

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Adam H wrote:

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 16:21:14 +0100

Most people who hate Arial do so because it is a complete and total rip-off of Helvetica -- for shame Microsoft. The changes that were made so that it would pass on copyright issues just stand to make it uglier. See the difference between Helvetica and Arial linked above by tunequest.

Hate-On Arial Haters (thanks Joe)
http://www.flickr.com/groups/anti-arial/

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David Airey :: Creative Design :: wrote:

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:15:21 +0100

Personally I don't see the issue with Arial. Sure, it's mainly used online, and I can't remember using it for print, but it's a typeface that has some merit.

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Stuart Brown wrote:

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 22:26:49 +0100

@Matt - Depends on what fonts you have installed! The cascade is as follows:

Cambria, Georgia, Palatino, Palatino Linotype, Myriad Pro, Serif

(The font you see will be the first in the list available)

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Matt Jones wrote:

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 19:47:45 +0100

Just for the sake of sounding ignorent what font is it one this blog? (I like it)

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Norswap wrote:

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 18:09:26 +0100

Well, Avante Garde is exactly the same that Century Gothic but it's more thin. Too thin for me :)

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Stuart Brown wrote:

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 23:27:21 +0100

@Tom - You're probably right with Verdana. Tahoma & Trebuchet MS too!

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Tom wrote:

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 22:06:08 +0100

I think Verdana should be included on this list - all well and good for screen output but the print version smells a funny colour.

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Tom wrote:

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 03:14:57 +0100

I am so glad someone finally said what you said. It kills me when people use bad fonts. If you spend a lot of money on a post or an advert, might as well have good fonts.

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Rob Ottens wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 22:54:12 +0100

Good list, terrible fonts. I see Arial and Arial Black to much. Love it for on a website (but not small please), but hate it when people use it for prints.

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Stuart Brown wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 22:19:21 +0100

@Anon - Principally two reasons (although there are many reasons to hate a font).

Firstly, the aesthetic - some fonts are just ill-formed & ugly - this can particularly be the case with fonts designed with the screen in mind rather than print.

Secondly, ubiquity - when a font is used more often that it deserves, and in lieu of other more meritable fonts, it does irk me so.

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Michael Müller C. wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 22:09:28 +0100

Totally agree, I absolutely hate the last two fonts. Maybe Myriad Pro is a good choice for replacing the "Arial-kind" family.

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wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 21:17:45 +0100

Maybe you could explain why these fonts are so bad? Just saying the suck doesn't really do much.

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Julian Schrader wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 18:36:25 +0100

Yeah. That's it.

Thanks for this compilationI'll refer to it repeatedly.

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Adam Griffiths wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 17:27:03 +0100

All this is so true lol. I also have Volter because its all pixels lol.

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Stuart Brown wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:30:51 +0100

Try Avante Garde instead - you may never go back to Century Gothic!

http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/itc-avant-garde-gothic/

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Norswap wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:25:54 +0100

I don't share your opinion about Century Gothic, I always tought it was a great geometrical font !

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Stuart Brown wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 15:13:17 +0100

I think I'll sit this dance out :-)

I'd be more inclined to use something like Franklin Gothic-
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/ef/atf-franklin-gothic/

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Jill Tovey wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:38:36 +0100

Hmm. Impact... really? You sure?

Admitting I quite like it is akin to the same feeling I got after dancing like MC Hammer at my sisters wedding last year.

Are all the other designers going to stand round the dance floor pointing and laughing or would someone like to dance?

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Matt Cox wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:26:35 +0100

lol, Helvetica.

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Stuart Brown wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 10:42:04 +0100

If that isn't cosmic irony, I don't know what is...

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Sam wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 10:16:32 +0100

Good list, personally I'm also not a big fan of Gill Sans that tends to get used in a lot of corporate stuff.

A couple of years back I was given a whole site done in Comic Sans to re-design. The site owner took a bit of pursuading to move on! So I guess ultimately choice of font is a very personal thing, for every designer that hates Comic Sans, there's a non designer who loves it.

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Foamcow wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:05:19 +0100

You forgot Courier (although it has its uses).

I've used Curlz a bit on toy packaging and advertising. It is rather over done though.

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Stuart Brown wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 08:41:48 +0100

@Raz - Yep, seen bancomicsans.com before. There are few causes more worthy!

Perhaps we should have an annual 'Comic Sans MS Day' - on which only Comic Sans MS is permitted. Would serve as a good reminder why we shouldn't use it on the other 364 days of the year...

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K wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 07:24:11 +0100

Curlz MT has a certain je ne sais quoi, but I don't know what it is.

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Raz wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 04:18:11 +0100

This cannot be said enough! Inattention to font is a major pet peeve. Sure, Curlz MT was my favourite font when I was 12 (yes, actually, it was), but...
Anyway, you may get a kick out of http://bancomicsans.com ("putting the sans in comic sans").

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tunequest wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 02:32:27 +0100

How to spot Arial: http://www.ms-studio.com/articlesarialsid.html

Nice comparison of Helv and Arial.

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Stuart Brown wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 01:46:56 +0100

I adore Bauhaus. Wonderful Modernist charm. I would never use it, but that's not the point :-)

Would agree with Broadway though. There are a few legitimate uses, perhaps - but I can see that one being abused.

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Matthew Kerr wrote:

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 01:30:32 +0100

Man, you gotta put the bauhous Bauhaus 93 font on there too - sure they where modern in the 20's, but so was broadway... by the way, broadway BT should be deleted from all computers as well - i've seen more typeface crimes with these two of late than with comic sans - and there are a lot of comic sans crimes out there...

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