Comic Sans Gets A Do-Over To Be Used In Programming

Image via MyFonts

Comic Sans has a face—in the typographical sense—that only its mother (or, in this case, father) could love. It’s indisputably the most controversial typeface in the world. Yet, it’d be a pity to ignore its strengths, like its cheerful nature and readability.

The polarizing font is also an unintentional ally for the dyslexic community, thanks to the irregularity of its characters that are more easily distinguishable by individuals.

Unrivaled legibility is a trait well-desired in coding too. However, instead of settling and making do with Comic Sans, type designer Toshi Omagari of the Tabular Type Foundry (via Boing Boing) has borrowed its best assets—and abandoned the rest—with an inspired version called ‘Comic Code’.

Image via MyFonts

For a refresher, here’s a sample of Comic Sans:

Image via GearedBull / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

“Comic Code is a monospaced adaptation of the most infamous yet most popular casual font,” Omagari describes.

The designer further shares that when programmers work, they type furiously, which “feels more akin to handwriting than typesetting”—hence the appeal of a handwritten font like Comic Sans.

Image via MyFonts

The typeface is “an unapologetic admittance of Comic Sans’s positives,” Omagari elaborates. These include its “friendly characteristics” and legibility.

With that, it also rejects elements like Comic Sans’s “poor outline and spacing qualities.” In contrast with the muse’s “artificially-made bold” and lack of italics, Comic Code also “comes with manually and lovingly drawn variations.”

Image via MyFonts

Coding doesn’t always have to be that serious, Omagari acknowledges.

“Let’s face it; sometimes, professional appearance is exactly what you don’t want… It is my wish to make codes look less intimidating to humans, including those with dyslexia.”

Comic Code is “a literal manifestation of ‘code like nobody’s watching,’” he quips. He also stresses that Comic Code “only takes inspiration from Comic Sans” and is intricately drawn from scratch.

The typeface is available in two families, including Comic Code Ligatures. Each font starts from US$12.

Image via MyFonts

For those who aren’t ready to take the leap, Omagari has also prepared a free, limited variant called ‘Comic Mono’ that’s released under an MIT license.

[via Boing Boing and Toshi Omagari, images via MyFonts]