You're a Comic Sans Criminal but we're here to help you

Comic Sans is probably one of the most misused fonts out there. Originally intended for the comic book-style speech bubbles for “Clippy” and other assistants in Microsoft Office, it got used first for “fun”, “childlike” documents and signs, and then found its way into far less appropriate venues, including those shown in the photos below:

Defibrillator and sexual assault notice using Comic Sans

The Comic Sans Criminal site does a great job telling the story of Comic Sans, where people went terribly, terribly wrong with it, what the appropriate uses for Comic Sans are, and it ends with the Comic Sans Pledge:

The Comic Sans Pledge: "I, _____, understand that my choice of font has the power to subconsciously and incorrectly set the tone for a piece of printed material, and as a result promise to seriously consider whether Comic Sans is an appropriate font choice before using it in any printed work in the future. Signed, ____"

Check out Comic Sans Criminal! It’s a beautifully-designed site that makes use of some good HTML5 tricks to turn it into an entertaining and gorgeous slideshow, and if it stops you from using Comic Sans inappropriately (or even better, altogether), so much the better!

This article also appears in Global Nerdy.