With a budget of 400 million dollars, I believe he could have chosen a better font, or even gotten a custom font designed for the movie.
The reason that designers get frustrated with font choices like Comic Sans and Papyrus is because often times they are used in the wrong context. Comic Sans is a font that wasn't even originally supposed to be released for public use. It conveys a childish and immature tone, and isn't appropriate for formal or business use because it looks unprofessional. Using it in kindergarten class is one thing, putting it on a tombstone is another.
Papyrus is incredibly overused - it seems that any time a person wants to convey "natural" or "elegance" or "unique" in their signage, they turn to Papyrus. For a small business, or a wedding, or whatever - someone who might not know better, it's slightly more acceptable. It is less acceptable that a famous director with piles of money at his disposal and a team of incredibly talented artists chose something so generic and overused for his 10 year masterpiece.
I'm aware that it's "just" a font, and in the long run, it doesn't bring world peace, save malnourished babies, or solve health care reform in the US.
HOWEVER, it's something that's important to a lot of people, it's what I'm studying for my career, and I believe that good design makes the world better in its own small way. So don't knock it, or I'll never come over and pick out paint colors for you! ;)
So if you are a small business owner wanting to develop some personal business cards or a starry eyed bride-to-be dead set on designing her own wedding invites, please please please consider using another font before you run to Comic Sans or Papyrus!! In fact, you could just ask me and I will be happy to steer you in the right direction.
Two great downloadable font sites are www.dafont.com and www.1001fonts.com. I have been known to peruse these sites for hours, looking for a great font that is perfect for the mood I'm trying to convey. These fonts are created by newer designers and are usually available for free. They are divided up into different categories depending on whether you are looking for a script, a grunge font, or a sans serif (that is, without the little twirlies on the ends)
If you are just working with MS Word and want to mix it up from the default Times New Roman, try using Helvetica, Gill Sans, Cochin, or Book Antiqua.
CollegeHumor did a funny video about fonts. Check it out (and if you've been paying attention you'll understand why I was slightly disappointed at the ending)
The reason that designers get frustrated with font choices like Comic Sans and Papyrus is because often times they are used in the wrong context. Comic Sans is a font that wasn't even originally supposed to be released for public use. It conveys a childish and immature tone, and isn't appropriate for formal or business use because it looks unprofessional. Using it in kindergarten class is one thing, putting it on a tombstone is another.
Papyrus is incredibly overused - it seems that any time a person wants to convey "natural" or "elegance" or "unique" in their signage, they turn to Papyrus. For a small business, or a wedding, or whatever - someone who might not know better, it's slightly more acceptable. It is less acceptable that a famous director with piles of money at his disposal and a team of incredibly talented artists chose something so generic and overused for his 10 year masterpiece.
I'm aware that it's "just" a font, and in the long run, it doesn't bring world peace, save malnourished babies, or solve health care reform in the US.
HOWEVER, it's something that's important to a lot of people, it's what I'm studying for my career, and I believe that good design makes the world better in its own small way. So don't knock it, or I'll never come over and pick out paint colors for you! ;)
So if you are a small business owner wanting to develop some personal business cards or a starry eyed bride-to-be dead set on designing her own wedding invites, please please please consider using another font before you run to Comic Sans or Papyrus!! In fact, you could just ask me and I will be happy to steer you in the right direction.
Two great downloadable font sites are www.dafont.com and www.1001fonts.com. I have been known to peruse these sites for hours, looking for a great font that is perfect for the mood I'm trying to convey. These fonts are created by newer designers and are usually available for free. They are divided up into different categories depending on whether you are looking for a script, a grunge font, or a sans serif (that is, without the little twirlies on the ends)
If you are just working with MS Word and want to mix it up from the default Times New Roman, try using Helvetica, Gill Sans, Cochin, or Book Antiqua.
CollegeHumor did a funny video about fonts. Check it out (and if you've been paying attention you'll understand why I was slightly disappointed at the ending)
Comic Sans & Papyrus are nice for web stuff because they are so widely distributed. But you are right, for a tombstone, you would be much better off with something other than Comic, maybe a Star Trek font....
ReplyDeletesheesh, Star Trek had their own fonts but Avatar used an off the shelf font ?
You font snobs! I may convert all of UrbanCincy over to Papyrus soon because it's soo cool and I've been wanting to convey that elegant feeling of the spa.
ReplyDeleteYay, another font geek! I almost choked when I saw the Avatar title for the first time...seriously, James Cameron?
ReplyDeleteThe overused Papyrus/Comic Sans/Curls MT trio makes me stabby.
~Tamia
TheStyleSample.com
I really don't get why so many people hate the fonts Comic Sans and Papyrus... yes, they don't belong on a tombstone, and yes, they're overused, but I think you all should just calm down. Just let people use whatever fonts they want, mkay?
ReplyDelete