3 ms·

Fun fact, you can blame this project for the public release of Comic Sans ;)

• tombert 4y ago
  Wait is that true? I had always heard that was Microsoft Bob's gift to the world...though clearly I'm wrong according to Wikipedia [1]. > The infamous Comic Sans font also made its first appearance in 3D Movie Maker [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_Movie_Maker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_Movie_Maker
  • gattilorenz 4y ago
    You're both right :) "Comic Sans was designed by Vincent Connare to fit the theme of Microsoft Bob and was inspired by comics like Watchmen and Batman. It would have fit Bob’s animated interface, but it wasn’t completed in time for the release. Given the short lifespan of Bob, we’d never learn to use Windows in Comic Sans. The font did get included in later Microsoft programs starting with Microsoft 3D Movie Maker." From https://uxdesign.cc/the-ugly-history-of-comic-sans-bd5d07f8ce81 https://uxdesign.cc/the-ugly-history-of-comic-sans-bd5d07f8c...
    • tombert 4y ago
      Not to get too far off on a tangent, but I am going to take a slightly unpopular opinion: Comic Sans is amongst the most readable fonts. It sheds almost all notions of trying to be "pretty", and thus the letters are distinct and easy to read. I wouldn't submit a research paper in Comic Sans, but I do happily use it for nearly everything internal to my computer (e.g. my coding font, my Obsidian notebooks, slack, etc), and I'm not even dyslexic, which apparently it's considered really good for. I feel like it's almost a shame that it has been deemed as "unprofessional", I think largely because of people using it in places that it doesn't really fit (e.g. the aforementioned research papers). I think there exists an alternate universe where people appreciate Comic Sans for the treasure that it is, and I suppose I can thank both MS Bob and 3DMM for it :).
      • mrguyorama 4y ago
        I have heard a rumor that dyslexic folk have an easier time reading Comic Sans
        • tombert 4y ago
          That's what I have heard too. I'm definitely not dyslexic, but I genuinely do just find Comic Sans to be easy to read. Serifs don't throw me off or anything and they look pretty, but they do kind of feel like noise when I'm actually just trying to read. Comic Sans just feels...legible? Like it was intended to be read-first, don't worry about impressing.
          • rightbyte 4y ago
            Makes sense. I still remember how much eye glasses "g" and fancy "a" confused me while learning to read.
          • WorldMaker 4y ago
            A couple NaNoWriMos back I saw the advice to switch to writing in Comic Sans to write faster. It seemed like silly advice, but it works surprisingly well and I think there are a couple keys to it: we know from the dyslexia studies that Comic Sans is often faster to read for many people (because people mostly read word shapes not letter-at-a-time and Comic Sans has great diversity in word shapes) and you do still need to read what you recently wrote to follow trains-of-thought, but also there seems to be a weird psychological effect in play when writing in Comic Sans for a first draft where with the font's overall lack of formality/casualness that you tend to give yourself more permission for mistakes and not editing while you write. I did find a noticeable speed improvement in NaNoWriMo attempts when writing in Comic Sans. I find that fascinating.
          • nvrspyx 4y ago
            Agreed. I'm a huge fan of rounded fonts for legibility, which unfortunately isn't that popular. My current favorite is San Francisco Rounded.