The Comic Sans Conundrum

The quirky, rounded, nominally sans-serif font of Comic Sans became a cultural phenomenon when it first burst onto the scene as a free option in Windows 95. Used in memes, kindergarten classrooms and sometimes even official signage, it’s become “the font everyone loves to hate.” So says Simon Garfield, author of a new biography of Comic Sans. And over its 30 years, the font became recommended by dyslexia organizations and can be used to chart a micro-history of online irony, comedy and backlash cycles. Garfield joins us to share why “no other font gets people so worked up” and how Comic Sans says a lot about how we express ourselves, online and off.

Guests:

Simon Garfield, author, “Comic Sans: The Biography of a Typeface” and “Just My Type: A Book About Fonts”

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