Tony Seddon - Thou Shall Not Use Comic Sans: 365 Graphic Design Sins and Virtues: A Designers Almanac of Dos and Donts

365 Graphic Design Sins and Virtues: A Designers Almanac of Dos and Donts

Thou Shall Not Use Comic Sans
365 Graphic Design Sins and Virtues: A Designers Almanac of Dos and Donts
Sean Adams, Peter Dawson, John Foster, Tony Seddon

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Copyright 2012 Quid Publishing

A Quid Book

Conceived and produced by
Quid Publishing, Level 4 Sheridan House, 114 Western Road, Hove BN3 3PJ, England
Designed by Tony Seddon

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The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the authors nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.

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ISBN 13 978-0-321-81281-0
ISBN 10 0-321-81281-6

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in China

A few years ago I decided to go back to school. I wasnt happy as a graphic designer, maybe I wasnt happy as a person. Who can say? But like any self-conscious middle class fauxhemian with a New Yorker subscription I had convinced myself that a graduate degree would fix me right up. But those things are pricey, so I thought Id test the waters first, and enrolled in a night class at Art Center College of Design, where I had studied years before. Unfortunately, by the time I set out on this experiment almost all the fancy classes had filled up. No 3D model making with the laser lathe for me. The one class that still had an open slot was Basics of Typography.

Now, by this time I had worked as an officially credentialed graphic designer for about eight years and as a paid dilettante for easily fifteen. On top of that, Art Centers night program was then designed mostly for younger students that needed to build up their portfolio to get accepted into the degree program. I was feeling pretty solid about my type skills, and downright cocky about the competition. But I thought, Eh, dont be that way. Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Besides, were none of us above revisiting the basics. Thisll be fun!

With this being the trial balloon for my return to life at the academic retreat and resort, I was looking forward to rediscovering the fundamentals with the excitement of a novice and the work ethic of a semi-seasoned pro. Instead of rushing through assignments in fear at the last possible minute, trying to guess what would please my teacher, Id approach each task with leisurely reflection and joy. This wouldnt be client work. Itd be my little treat to myself each week. Itd be the way I had always dreamed school should be.

Of course, none of that came to pass. I wasnt taking time off from work. I just added this to my giant to-do list in the hopes that it would somehow keep paying gigs at bay. Which it didnt. So I rushed, and I fudged, and instead of learning to see old things with new eyes, I used the same tricks on my new teacher that I was using on my commercial work, too. It was just one more thing I had to get out the door.

That wasnt what made me quit after four weeks, though. I couldve done it. I couldve pulled through, even though the whole exercise had become somewhat pointless by now. Yes, I was going through the motions, but I was technically a student again, and maybe Id meet somebody cute on campus. Not a trivial benefit.

But what was the real problem anyway? Was it just the hectic pace? I was used to that. Was it that I had to submit to the critiques from teachers or my fellow students? Nah. That didnt bother me. It was all very good-natured stuff, and I was better for hearing it. No, what did me in was listening to the teacher giving feedback to the younger students.

All of it was highly professional, of coursewell-considered, and totally correct: Open up the leading a little. This part over here might need to be kerned a little bit more carefully. Have you considered the negative space youre creating on the page?Perfectly good stuff. Stuff Ive been told a hundred times and that Ive said to people a hundred times in turn. But somehow I just couldnt handle seeing it applied to these eager young students just trying to get into school.

Just leave them alone!, I thought. Yes, I agree that this isnt the proper way of doing it. But maybe theyre on to something! Something new! And fantastic! What would happen if we just let them run with it?

But they werent on to anything. They were just stumbling along, trying to get better. Whats more, they didnt want to be left alone. They were there specifically to be corrected, to absorb the rules, to learn and play it straight.

Still, I couldnt handle it. It triggered something in memaybe one too many memories of haggling with clients over one extra point of type size or a logo placementand I had to leave. I didnt even quit. I just stopped showing up.

In the end, I learned first hand that the old saw is right: No matter if you want to follow the rules or you want to break them, you have to know them first and know them well. And that is, of course, the point of all this.

You can look at this book as a guide to avoiding rookie mistakes, or you can be an ornery bastard like me and see it as a list of Oh yeah? Well see about that! challenges. Either way is good. But the fact is, everything in this book is stuff you need to know, and youre getting it from people who have proven that they know what theyre doing.

Everything here is true, and to have it gathered in one volume is simply incredibly useful.

And its a good thing that all of it is happening in book form, too, because I have to admit that there are at least fourteen things here that Ive been doing wrong for years. Would I have ever dared to ask anybody about it? Hell no. Because thats the other thing about school. And life. You dont wanna look stupid. This book will help with that. A lot.