No, It’s Not Cute

Earlier this year, my mother was showing me versions of her résumé over the years. I cringed when I came upon a more recent version that had used Comic Sans as the font. I cannot stress enough: DO NOT USE COMIC SANS. There is no justified reason to do so. And definitely do not use it on a résumé. (I’m sorry Mom that I had to use you as an example.) It is a goofy looking font that is supposed to mimic the lettering used in comic books. Why would anyone knowingly want his/her professional document to mimic a comic book or connote the feeling of one? (Unless you were applying to be a comic artist maybe?) Surely my mother is not the only one to make this mistake in her life, but others can learn from this mistake. Comic Sans is a destructive virus and the only cure is awareness. It is important to get it engraved into your psyche that it is unprofessional. At first you may feel guilt knowing that you have ignorantly used it in the past, but it is refreshing to know that that dark period in your life is over.

Readability, Legibility, and Transparency, oh my!

How do you know if you are using a typeface correctly? A common belief among many great typographers is that type should be transparent. As Robert Bringhurst has said, function is first and foremost. What this means is that a typeface shouldn’t be drawing attention to itself. Obviously, the reader is going to see the typeface, but the objective is to not have him/her think about it. The content is what the reader should be focused on. Think of a typeface as though it was a belt you are wearing to an interview. A good belt will complete the outfit, but shouldn’t be attracting more attention than you, the actual person being interviewed.

Another metaphor, made popular in the typography world in a 1930s essay by typographer Beatrice Ward, is to think of type as a “crystal goblet,” which clearly illustrates the transparency that type should take. She said, “Type well used is invisible as type, just as the perfect talking voice is the unnoticed vehicle for the transmission of words, ideas.”

Whenever you are using type for a practical function, like a document or presentation, you should always keep in mind that there is a difference between readability and legibility. Using 14-pt Futura is optically easier to see than 11-pt Times New Roman. Futura is larger and therefore more legible. However, reading a novel set in 11-pt Times New Roman would be much easier to read than 14-pt Futura. Your eye would move much more fluently across the page because a small serif font like 11-pt Times New Roman has better readability than a larger sans serif like 14-pt Futura.