View Full Version : Fonts and professionalism
I have a bit of a bug bear when it comes to fonts. My sister and my dad (who I work with) seem to think that sending E-mails and letters to customers using Comic Sans is perfectly fine and it's a "Friendly" font. Personally I find it childish and immature not friendly but they don't seem to get it.
If you are sending the letter or e-mail to a friend or family member then I could care less what font you use, but when it comes to business it really grinds my gears.
Anyone else see what I'm getting at, or am I the only one?
Comic Sans has it's place and business related emails and letters isn't it. It is quite a friendly font but it's been heavily overused.
I quite like Trebuchet MS as some may remember :)
I don't know really, if it was a customer you had a long relationship with then a girl/secretary can probably get away with it.
I have different styles generally to suit the situation, when addressing solicitors/partners in e-mails I'll be very formal, if dealing with trainees/paralegals they get a formal email first then depending on the reply it will be slightly less formal from then on.
However, we have a company 'font' - Tahoma, which we use for all communications :)
Our mail client strips out all the useless junk, so everything just appears as text. It seems to be the best approach.
However, on MSN this does become an issue. People seem to prefer 'cute' over 'readable'.
Our 'official' font is Frutiger 55 Roman (http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/frutiger/55-roman/) :)
Marketing (me) uses Helvetica Neue and the rest of the company has to use Arial.
I cry when I see an email in Tms New Rmn :(
BB x
Emailing someone formally at a workplace in Comic Sans is a bit like writing a letter in crayon. We get emails from students in it all the time, usually like this:
From: twinkly_glitter@hotmail.com
Subject: passwrod
i reset my passwrod and now I don't now it. cld you send me a new one pls.
J.
Admiral Huddy
18-09-2007, 16:27
We have to use a font called "BayernlbFont" for all our documents here??? Here is a 100 page document on how i'm going to re-structure your banking system.. "It's in the wrong font Paul".
Piggymon
18-09-2007, 16:41
Tahoma FTW !
MS Trebuchet as already mentioned and Tahoma for web sites. For emails, it's boring but I prefer Arial.
As for other "friendly" fonts - great for personal communication but not really for business unless you're in design or something else "arty".
Trebuchet MS and Tahoma depending on my mood at the time generally.
For design work I like Myriad Pro but it comes off a bit 'iPod' (I wonder why :p) sometimes.
I hate Comic Sans.
A lot of company IT policies that I've come across tend to prefer Arial for emails. It's so generic, and to be honest the easiest one to get right cross-platform and on various clients. I've always preferred Arial myself. Comic sans isn't professional at all in my eyes - though as Rich_L pointed out some people can get away with it, though I wouldn't associate their seniority as high.
As for style, to colleagues: semi-formal to informal depending on the matter discussed. To my superiors, friendly but formal. To the busty secretary, flirty and outrageous! ;)
http://ocukroguesgallery.com/lopez/ComicSans.jpg
Says it all IMO :D
MarcLister
18-09-2007, 18:33
I'm loving this forum! I hate Comic Sans with a passion. Sure it might have its uses but its used so often and for wrong reasons that its just awful.
I used to use Arial/Tahoma and Verdana but the first two are a bit "generic" and boring so I now use Georgia. Looks quite cool and is a little more readable I reckon.
I hate Comic Sans however it was extensively used at the college I worked for.
Like it or lump it, there is one very serious argument for it which is the reason it was used at the college:
Dyslexics, and those with other reading disorders, find it significantly easier to read.
SidewinderINC
18-09-2007, 19:00
Verdana
As used by sensible people everywhere!
i send all my emails in plain text, so I believe people see them in courier - or some fixed-width font. I think any kind of styling in email should be totally abolished!
as far as fonts I like - Verdana, Georgia, Skia, Arial
Says it all IMO :D
'renders everything... inappropriately jocular' ;D
I need to find somewhere to use that!
If the Verger pees in the font it is not professional!
...ooohh wait... wrong font :p
Mohinder
18-09-2007, 22:36
I use helvetica.
But plenty of nice ones have been mentioned in here, a client that I ****ing hate uses varying sizes and boldnesses of America Typewriter in his mails, purposely, and I hate him for it. Among other things.
Arcade Fire
19-09-2007, 09:18
What do people think about the new MS Office fonts? I think I may have fallen in love with Constantia a little, although Calibri is quite nice too.
All my emails are plain text too, so I guess people see them in Courier. I do lots of coding and typesetting, so I'm quite attached to my fixed-width fonts.
Someone sent me an email using Calibri from Office 2007, and I have Office 2003. It looked vaguely OK until I tried to reply, then it turned ugly. Unless you know the recipient has the new fonts, don't use them.
Arcade Fire
19-09-2007, 13:45
Doesn't it just switch them to something appropriate? Calibri --> Arial for example?
Nope - it switches them to something inappropriate, or at least it did that to me.
Admiral Huddy
19-09-2007, 16:41
I want a feet font :)
Justsomebloke
19-09-2007, 16:43
Fonts are way of my radar but Thanks for making me paranoid about them now :p
Blackstar
19-09-2007, 17:03
I quite like Trebuchet MS as some may remember :)
Another fan here, i do my essays and letters in it :)
Comic Sans is not appropriate for ANYTHING. It has several flaws as a typeface (which I'll not go into here for fear of looking FAR too geeky) which were mostly caused by it never having meant to be a typeface in the first place. It makes everything look amateurish.
I always tell my students that I won't mark any work they hand me in Comic Sans. :)
It has several flaws as a typeface (which I'll not go into here for fear of looking FAR too geeky) which were mostly caused by it never having meant to be a typeface in the first place. It makes everything look amateurish.
I'm quite interested to know the reasons if you don't mind sharing - It's interesting.
SidewinderINC
20-09-2007, 15:23
I'm quite interested to know too - I'm just a nerd :p
Isn't it supposed to be for comic book-type stuff, hence the horizontal and vertical strokes are wrong? Or have I just made that up?
I just forwarded Lopez's picture to the person here who writes our training manuals and I heard her murmur to herself "but I like that font" and give me a filthy look :eek:
Goose is right about the horizontal and vertical strokes - they're equal in weight, which is generally considered to be unnatural (although to be fair, a lot of fonts are like that, they're just usually much thinner ones so you don't notice). Comic Sans also doesn't bother with kerning, which is to do with the space between letters and is mainly noticeable in large fonts. To explain this better, try the following:
Open Word, switch to Times New Roman and set the font size as large as you can, type the word "WAR," switch to Comic Sans and repeat this on a new line. Note the space between the W and the A. In Comic Sans this area looks far too big and silly, whereas in Times New Roman it (should, as long as Word's settings are right) looks more natural because the letters "overlap" a little bit. If this doesn't work, you may need to manually turn kerning on in the font options window, this's actually slightly better as you can see the letters move in Times, but not in Comic Sans.
Above all else, it just looks damned silly! :)
I use comic sans sometimes in MSM chat windows. It's too playful for serious stuff.
But business wise, I'm an Ariel lady. Smart, trim and proper.
Time of New Roman - like you mei - makes me cringe!
:)
Arcade Fire
20-09-2007, 19:27
But business wise, I'm an Ariel lady. Smart, trim and proper.Like the little mermaid..?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11582548
"Comic Sans, that unassuming jaunty typeface lurking inside millions of computers, has become the target of an online hate campaign. Simon Garfield explains why normally mild-mannered people are so enraged by its use."
I really dislike Comic Sans.
We use Calibri as our official font and have never had problems with it on the machines that don't have it installed, it just defaults to Arial.
If the Verger pees in the font it is not professional!
...ooohh wait... wrong font :p
lol err what? what had I been drinking ;D
As for me, Calibri is what I tend to use most of the time.
MarcLister
20-10-2010, 18:01
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11582548
"Comic Sans, that unassuming jaunty typeface lurking inside millions of computers, has become the target of an online hate campaign. Simon Garfield explains why normally mild-mannered people are so enraged by its use."I read this article at lunch time today. Then a colleague asked me for some help making some 5 minute interval numbers, from 5 to 60, for a clock thing in her classroom. I asked her what font she wanted to use........:angry:
My boss was using comic sans. one day I got so fed up with it and said you do realise that everyone is laughing at you, your in the sign industry and that's the most hated and unprofessional font there is. He kept using it :( So I decided next time he was out I'd go and change it.. he doesn't seem to have noticed!
I really dislike Comic Sans.
We use Calibri as our official font and have never had problems with it on the machines that don't have it installed, it just defaults to Arial.
lol err what? what had I been drinking ;D
As for me, Calibri is what I tend to use most of the time.
I have told everyone here to use Calibri too.
Arial is so 80s! lol
BB x
Arial is so 80s! lol
BB x
The BBC not long ago "rebranded" (not sure that's the right word) and are now using Arial instead of Verdana... I think you'll might find that the 80's are coming back in fashion!
semi-pro waster
20-10-2010, 19:14
I'm not overly fond of Comic Sans but generally just use whatever the email client happens to be set to so at work that seems to be either Tahoma or Ariel, neither of which bother me as they're both reasonably tidy fonts.
MarcLister
20-10-2010, 19:15
The BBC not long ago "rebranded" (not sure that's the right word) and are now using Arial instead of Verdana... I think you'll might find that the 80's are coming back in fashion!That means I could become fashionable then. :p 1983 rawks. :D
I want to post a comment on that as Louise, W Midlands clearly doesn't know very much about what fonts are available
As a teacher Comic Sans is an easy to read font, especially for pupils with learning difficulties as it is the only font to use a 'hand writing style' letter a.
But I clearly don't know how to comment so I can't :confused:
But I clearly don't know how to comment so I can't :confused:
OWNED
Only by myself though... and it's clearly not an issue otherwise I wouldn't have posted my short comings .
I can however rest in the comfort of my superior font knowledge... now where is brush script when you need it ;)
Arial for letters allllllllllll the way.
Arial is for the commoners. Helvetica Neue all the way :D
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/7827/breakupletter.png
My supervisor just sent out a snot-a-gram about errors we have made on our various systems.
In Comic Sans. :(
Lynnie_pitch nee Leigh
13-01-2011, 01:15
I want to post a comment on that as Louise, W Midlands clearly doesn't know very much about what fonts are available
But I clearly don't know how to comment so I can't :confused:
I'm a teacher and use Comic Sans when producing presentations and work sheets as it is clear to read for younger pupils. But I'm always trying out new stuff so if you've got better recommendations please share I'm sure Louise would appreciate it too. Don't really have the time to go through finding better options.
For professional letters to parents I use Arial or verdana :)
Arial is for the commoners. Helvetica Neue all the way :D
No mac at work! Booooo
For you iPhone users, there is a great (read sad) game for us font lovers called.....The Font Game :D
Found it last night and it's tests your knowledge of different fonts ;D
I found it fun anyway :dunno:
I'd find it fun too, but sadly don't have a iphone.
I'd also find the iphone very useful with the what the font for iPhone (http://new.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/iPhone/) app to identify fonts
I'm a teacher and use Comic Sans when producing presentations and work sheets as it is clear to read for younger pupils. But I'm always trying out new stuff so if you've got better recommendations please share I'm sure Louise would appreciate it too. Don't really have the time to go through finding better options.
For professional letters to parents I use Arial or verdana :)
It was more the persons comment:
as it is the only font to use a 'hand writing style' letter a.
because although the font does use a hand writing style a there are better examples if your talking hand writing in particular cursive (not sure if you dealing with teaching children cursive hand writing.. such as Jarman and jardotty for tracing letters (both by Christopher Jarman)
Awsome....grabbing that now :D
Awsome....grabbing that now :D
My fee is one iPhone :D
Lynnie_pitch nee Leigh
14-01-2011, 00:20
It was more the persons comment:
because although the font does use a hand writing style a there are better examples if your talking hand writing in particular cursive (not sure if you dealing with teaching children cursive hand writing.. such as Jarman and jardotty for tracing letters (both by Christopher Jarman)
Nothing like that for me just needs to be easy to read on the board or sheet :)
Kids love it! I refuse to mark coursework in comic sans though :)
I'm not rainman with font names but i'll have a look at some of the fonts we use and see if i think any are suitable for your needs... i have a few in my mind that i can picture.. but will need to look them up.
Edit: Sassoon Primary (http://www.fonts.com/findfonts/Detail.htm?ProductId=216102) is very nice, and Gill sans Infant also known as Schoolbook (http://www.fonts.com/findfonts/Detail.htm?ProductId=149669) is clean.
/rainman
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/4859/comicsans2.png
MarcLister
30-01-2011, 22:32
Got a letter from my surgery yesterday and they've arranged an appointment with me for a diabetic review with the diabetic nurse there.
The letter is written in Comic Sans. Why?! :(
Comic Saaaaaaaaaans! *falls to knees*
Verdana for me, always looks classy :)
I've had Comic Sans from the dentist, but not the doctor - yet.
semi-pro waster
01-02-2011, 19:11
Got a letter from my surgery yesterday and they've arranged an appointment with me for a diabetic review with the diabetic nurse there.
The letter is written in Comic Sans. Why?! :(
It's actually a great idea to distract font geeks - if you receive bad news from a doctors surgery in Comic Sans you'll be too full of apoplexy for a while to properly absorb what is wrong with you and you'll come to the realisation of the trouble more gradually as you cool down. It's not a tactic that will work for most of the population but it's nice to see them considering the end percentiles too. ;)
Century Gothic, Verdana, Calibri (and of course I repeat any of the Helvetica family) are all quite nice fonts actually :)
Papyrus in Avatar made me cringe! :(
http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/officeoffline/WindowsLiveWriter/FontsComicSansLogic_8A4A/Fonts%20-%20Comic%20Sans%20+%20Logic%20=_b2715b74-c7ff-4077-8610-be87d6d725b3.gif
I'm quite keen on Trebuchet MS.
If I'm on a PC, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Tahoma would be my choices.
Comic Sans & Times New Roman make me cry & lose a few brain cells trying harder to read them.
If I'm on the mac however Helvetica>*
Someone recently added a user guide for what we do at work in to SVN and when I opened it I was met with Times New Roman! Thankfully I managed to make a change to the lot & commit it before anyone else was met with the same sight!
Why not Helvetica on the PC? ;)
Why not Helvetica on the PC? ;)
I don't know if its on our work PCs :/ was it licensed in XP?
And the PCs at home I only use for iPlayer/VNC
It don't believe it comes as standard to either Windows or Office - but I have got it as a part of an extensive custom font collection :)
I had someone cheekily inform me that it is infact the exact same font as 'Arial' the other day! :eek: Arial does not have a film about it though ;D
Dymetrie
01-02-2011, 20:44
No Helvetica in Office 2007 Professional :(
Helvetica is a Mac font isn't it not? MS imitated it with Arial as I understand.
Imitated yes, but if you used them comparatively then the design-eyed-people would notice a big difference :)
Although a standard font on Mac, I've used it on PC for ~7 years so it doesn't have any exclusivity as far as I'm aware.
Helvetica is a Mac font isn't it not? MS imitated it with Arial as I understand.
I think its a case of MS not wanting to pay the license on it so they made Arial.
(I have seen the film, but don't remember exactly what it said on the issue)
It's basically a short independent cinema film on Helvetica for design nerds and font fans :) Worth the 40 mins/1hr spent watching if you're something of a details fanatic.
I watched it as a part of a lecture series on Architectural Representation : some interesting points made that I will let the type-design masters explain in their own words on film ;)
I just watched it cose I'm geek enough ;D
I'm internally verifying some BTEC assignment briefs at the moment and am shocked at how many assessors and lecturers prepare the briefs in Comic Sans :/ It's all going on the feedback sheets!!!
Arial does not have a film about it though ;D
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aiFouv6oK6c/Sy7YaJzHclI/AAAAAAAABYE/wvM459S9ZcM/s400/The-Little-Mermaid-Special-Edition.jpg
Yes I know it's spelt differently
It's all going on the feedback sheets!!!
Damn right! :angry: ;D
Ariel
;D ;D Phil - I had suspected someone to be posting:
http://static.which.net/media/images/in-content/ariel-biological-washing-powder-191063.jpg
Now I'm going to have that cheeky little rasta crab in my head all day :D
someone gotta nail dat girls fins to da flooooooor
MarcLister
03-02-2011, 22:51
It's actually a great idea to distract font geeks - if you receive bad news from a doctors surgery in Comic Sans you'll be too full of apoplexy for a while to properly absorb what is wrong with you and you'll come to the realisation of the trouble more gradually as you cool down. It's not a tactic that will work for most of the population but it's nice to see them considering the end percentiles too. ;)Would a surgery actually give you bad news by letter? I would have thought you'd either see a doctor or get a phone call.
And if they do send out bad news by letter I hope they just use Comic Sans for appointment letters and something a bit more respectful for bad news letters. This is just my opinion mind. :D
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