Comic Neue
 | |
| Category | Script |
|---|---|
| Designer(s) | Craig Rozynski with Hrant Papazian |
| Date released | April 2014 |
| License | SIL Open Font License[1] |
| Design based on | Comic Sans |
| Variations | Comic Neue Angular |
| Website |
comicneue |
Comic Neue is a casual script typeface released in 2014. It was designed by Craig Rozynski as a more modern, refined version of the ubiquitous, but frequently criticised typeface, Comic Sans.
Design
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Comic Neue was designed by Craig Rozynski, an Australian graphic designer living in Japan, who wanted to create an informal script typeface similar to the ubiquitous Microsoft font Comic Sans, which was created by Vincent Connare in the 1990s.[2][3] Since its creation, Comic Sans has come to be considered "the world's most reviled typeface";[4] Rozynski aimed to update Comic Sans so that it would be more suitable to the 2010s and more acceptable to a wider demographic, including "the typographically savvy".[3] Rozynski based his design on the original glyphs of Comic Sans and "beat [them] into shape" to create a new typeface.[3] He wanted to refine the original letter forms to make them more sophisticated, to create "a version [of the original] you couldn't easily fault", while "maintaining the honesty that made Comic Sans so popular".[3][4][5]
When he first had the idea to "save" Comic Sans, Rozynski thought that the project would take him approximately a month to complete, but he ended up spending three years on the design.[6] He originally planned to create the typeface as a joke, but after spending some time on the project he began to take it seriously,[5] commissioning Hrant Papazian of The MicroFoundry to carry out significant technical improvements to the outlines as well as to the spacing & kerning of all 12 fonts in the family. It was released in April 2014 and a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign successfully raised $10,000 to expand the typeface to support non-English languages.[6][7] The original release of the typeface is available for free download on the typeface's official website, but Rozynski has suggested that he may charge a fee for future, more complete releases.[5] He has expressed hope that it would be picked up and funded by a type foundry or online type library such as Adobe's TypeKit.[6]
Variants
The typeface was originally released in two variants: Comic Neue and Comic Neue Angular. In the latter, the rounded terminals ending each stroke are made angular.[4][8] Rozynski claims that the angular version was "a happy accident".[5] Both variants include bold, regular, and light weights, and each weight is available in roman and italic fonts.[7]
Shortly after the initial release, plans were announced to develop characters to support other European languages.[6]
Response
Commentary on the typeface has been mostly positive. Co.Design's John Brownlee felt that Comic Neue succeeded in refining Comic Sans while remaining casual, writing: "If Comic Sans resembles the handwriting of a 10-year-old with excellent penmanship, Comic Neue is the block lettering of that same kid as a high school senior."[4] Amanda Kooser of CNET described Comic Neue as "Comic Sans' much more attractive and worldly brother" and opined that the new typeface had successfully redeemed the "much-maligned" original.[8] The Washington Post reporter Caitlin Dewey also felt that Comic Neue was an improvement on the original typeface and made Comic Sans "cool again".[9] Tyler McCarthy of The Huffington Post simply referred to Comic Neue as "a slightly less horrible version of Comic Sans",[10] while Jacob Kastrenakes described it in The Verge as "a stylishly thin yet still playfully curly font that's generally much nicer to read than Comic Sans".[11]
On the other hand, comic book writer Mark Evanier said that the typeface was an improvement on Comic Sans, but that it still did not meet the standards of a professional cartoonist. He stated that the typeface works well used in upper and lower case together, but not when used in all caps, which is how comic books are typically lettered.[12] Vincent Connare, the original designer of Comic Sans, thought that Comic Neue was not casual enough.[3] Rozynski has noted that most of the criticism of the typeface originated from type designers rather than laypeople.[6]
References
- ↑ http://comicneue.com/
- ↑ McCracken, Harry (8 April 2014). "Meet Comic Neue, a Comic Sans-like Typeface Without a Comic Sans-like Reputation". Time. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Vincent, James (8 April 2014). "Meet Comic Sans' successor: Comic Neue". The Independent. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 Brownlee, John (8 April 2014). "Comic Sans Gets A Makeover". Co.Design. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 Sinclair, Mark (7 April 2014). "The neue Comic Sans". Creative Review. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Lee, Adrian (11 April 2014). "The man who wants to fix Comic Sans". Maclean's. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- 1 2 "Comic Neue". ComicNeue.com. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- 1 2 Kooser, Amanda (10 April 2014). "Comic Neue: Comic Sans typeface for grown-ups". CNET. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ↑ Dewey, Caitlin (7 April 2014). "This designer just made Comic Sans, the Internet's most hated font, cool again". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ↑ McCarthy, Tyler (7 April 2014). "Someone Created A Slightly Less Horrible Version Of Comic Sans". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ↑ Kastrenakes, Jacob (7 April 2014). "Meet the illegitimate child of Comic Sans". The Verge. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ↑ Evanier, Mark (8 April 2014). "That Face!". NewsFromMe.com. Retrieved 31 July 2014.