Branding Haiku: It’s such a nice font…
25.06.2010
It’s such a nice font
How ’bout we use Papyrus?
Actually, it’s not.
From a typography standpoint, it’s gimmick-y, poorly kerned, and the letterforms are un-impressive. From a branding standpoint, Papyrus is so overused that it appears in print and online in everything from restaurant menus and homemade tri-fold brochures to travel websites and yoga dvds.
I think that maybe when it first came out, it may have been intended to have a middle-eastern/Egyptian feel to it. But since it’s been a standard font on every Mac and Windows computer since the mid-1980′s, it’s become the go-to typeface for someone who is trying to be creative. And I don’t mean to be harsh – recently Papyrus was used in the movie title and subtitles in Avatar – so I’m poking at professional designers and bootstrapping entrepreneurs equally. If you’d like to see more, check out Papyrus Watch.
And while Papyrus is probably the most recognizably over-used, abused and misused typeface, it’s not alone. Another one to avoid like the plague is Comic Sans. Originally intended for things like cartoon speech bubbles, it’s also now used in everything from medical services to “wet paint” signs. My point with all this is to steer anyone who makes any type decisions ever, away from those default fonts on your computer to the vast array of type available on the internet… much of it for free. Dafont is an excellent source of free fonts. Also try Urban Fonts and Acid Fonts. Always check the fine print if you’re using it commercially.
Images from www.papyruswatch.com and the Flickr Comic Sans Pool
