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Metrically equivalent replacement for Comic Sans
Posted by nineplymaple in
17 Jan 2013 — 11:07am
17 Jan 2013 — 11:07am
I know everyone loves to hate on Comic Sans, and I was having trouble finding a metrically equivalent replacement for it, so I made one. My concept is "what if Vincent Connare had a ruler?" I'm trying to maintain the character that people love about Comic Sans, while removing the oddities and irregularities. Using the same metrics means there is still plenty of WTF in here, but hopefully it is an improvement. This is my first font, so it's probably pretty rough.
Here's a comparison to Comic Sans
I also need a name. I was thinking "Liberation Comic", but it wouldn't officially be a part of the Liberation fonts. Maybe "Comic Spans" because it spans the same space as Comic Sans.
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17 Jan 2013 — 12:31pm
I could never understand why people hate Comic Sans. I for one think that it serves it's purpose well and those who dislike it are just misdirecting their dissatisfaction of seeing lay people use it in their designs towards Comic Sans. Comic Spans sounds reasonable but I have a feeling that if Mr. Connare used a ruler then the outcome would have been different than what you have done, like the sample below.
17 Jan 2013 — 12:43pm
Hah, great idea!
Comic Spaz
Comic Less
Comic Offstage
hhp
17 Jan 2013 — 10:55pm
I don't hate Comic Sans, but it certainly does have some less desirable aspects. Mostly, it is super inconsistent. I tried to line up the vertical strokes, and make everything the same height, and avoid the handwriting squiggles. I know there are tons of other comic fonts out there, and the world doesn't need another one. I just wanted to give people an alternative that fits in the same space, and doesn't suck quite as much.
I figured out the name, too. Comic Relief.
What is that font, by the way?
17 Jan 2013 — 11:02pm
Comic Relief is perfect!
hhp
19 Jan 2013 — 10:37am
The font is VAG Rounded.
19 Jan 2013 — 1:32pm
Why metrically equivalent? I can't imagine there are a ton of crucial documents in Comic Sans for which you are worried about reflowing the text. Was that just a shortcut for your design process?
19 Jan 2013 — 1:42pm
Shortcut? It's more work... It's not like Comic Sans has like cosmically good spacing worth copying. :-)
And I think if the plan is to come very close to the black forms of some existing font, you might as well make the spacing identical, just in case...
One thing though, Jeff: I'm not sure this would be OK to release - and even less OK to sell. Apple might have gotten away with Chalkboard, but that's why some people don't respect Apple's role in typography any more.
hhp