I hate Papyrus
Sunday, July 15, 2007
I'm definitely not alone in this and I don't claim to be the first to express this loathing, but I have to inform everyone of my absolute disdain for the Papyrus typeface.
Papyrus is that cute little font that looks different and eye catching, at least that is exactly what goes through anyone's mind when they insanely choose to use this awful typeface. Unfortunately for me, this has become an ever increasing phenomenon. So much so, that it seems that every local business on the planet that sells any good or service thinks it is a good idea to use this mistake of a font for a multitude of ill-conceived types of media. Every time I see it, I feel like I am going to reach up to the menu/advertisement/logo and scratch it out with my bare hands.
Typefaces should be chosen to let the words communicate the idea, and subtly help convey the message, but not be overbearing or have you notice the type more than the message. Every time I look at Papyrus I just think about how absolutely distracting it is.
In closing, I'd like to say to anyone out there who even thinks about using this font for anything ever...please, please, please don't.
Comments
brig | August 24, 2007
DUDE! i agree with you.....i wrote this a while ago:
http://www.cpluv.com/www/item/briggen/1562/
Later, brig
Anonymous | August 31, 2007
Brian, we need to start a papyrus support group or something. I too share you utter loathing for this atrocity of a font. I found your page when in a gutter of frustration googled "hate papyrus" after a client of mine requested we use it on his website. Cheers to you Brian, and down with Papyrus!
Anonymous | September 13, 2007
every line of your blog rings true to me. i'm glad there is someone else out there that can recognize a terrible, seemingly irrelevant trend like this. Everytime i see it i cringe a little-i may be overreacting but it's not hard to dodge this lame disease. Can't people realize it's everywhere and is no longer unique or neat?
Kat | December 23, 2007
Oh my gosh. Let's DO start a support group. I need it. Everytime I see someone using that font I want to SCREAM!!! I absolutely LOATH papyrus and all the people, ESPECIALLY business owners who can't go out and find one of a BILLION other ACTUALLY unique fonts to work into their business signs, cards, and stationary. I worked for a company that used Century Gothic as their font for EVERYTHING. It has it's place, but that was a little overboard. I almost went postal, but then I thought, "At least it's not PAPYRUS!!!!"
AAAAGGHHH | June 4, 2008
It's almost 2 a.m. I'm redesigning yet another ad that came in with PAPYRUS. I am choking back a big cradle-of-civilization puke. I swear that the entire book would be in this pathetic excuse for a font if I left it to the advertisers. Huh. Pfft.
Thanks for the ventspace...
Tyler | June 4, 2008
I have an on-going war with Papyrus font. I see it used EVERYWHERE. FUK PAPYRUS FONT! I mean seriously. I've been wating for a place like this for a long time.
I'm going to boycott papyrus from this day forth.
IT's on the DVD cover of the Thin Red Line Between Love and Hate! Starring Martin Lawrence! WTF are these designers thinking using premade MS FONT's on their fuking box covers.
kim | June 8, 2008
awesome!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/papyrussucks/
Anonymous | June 29, 2008
I saw this:
http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/
I cried. I googled "I hate Papyrus". You're at the top of the google queue, you know.
Krensada | July 30, 2008
I live in a city where it is used more often than other places, because of the "Southwestern" feel it tends to bring, and I can only concur with your utter hatred for this font. I think it looks tacky, and yes it is way overused!
If there is a business that uses it, I take my business elsewhere. Even if they are the only ones who distribute what I am looking for.
Katelyn | November 24, 2008
I'm so glad other people feel the way I do...most people look at me like i'm a crazy person when I start to express my absolute hatred for papyrus. i hate seeing it everywhere....especially on stuff that should be "well" designed by people who are probably making alot of money. i can understand the everyday joe who uses it on something not knowing, but when a designer does it......ewwww
Claire | January 1, 2009
My friends think that I'm nuts because everytime I see Papyrus I scream "papyrus!" and my hands and arms start to flail. It is so overused, and has become apparent to my friends that this is true, as a result of all of the flailing. I won't go anywhere/buy anything that has papyrus on thier logo/menu/open sign. I couldn't have sushi the other day. they ruined it with papyrus. I LOVE sushi! The waiter thought I was off my rocker, but my friend just looked and me and said "I know! For me , it's Comic Sans!", apparently HR uses it to make layoffs seem happier. Anyhow, glad to know that I'm not the only one.
Shermy | January 6, 2009
Wow, I also, along with quite a few others here, googled "I hate Papyrus font" and I am very pleased to find out so many people feel the same way! I also feel the need to point it out everytime I see it on something. It seems like no matter how unrelated it is to a product, someone feels it's neccessary to shoehorn it in, just for the fun of it. If I only had a penny for everytime I saw it. I was actually telling someone at a hockey arena the other day how much I hated the Papyrus font, and as I was trying to describe it, I looked over my shoulder and sure enough, it was on the bulletin board twice on random ads. I was like "AGGH, it's right there!"
Jen | January 9, 2009
Ugh, I actually found this blog because I'm working on an ad for a dentist and they have a look-alike of Papyrus in the headline and I was trying to find out what it is because I have to recreate it. Most usage of Papyrus I see is for businesses with a "nature" or New Age feel to them. Not that it isn't used for everything under the freakin sun, but that's what comes to mind (besides AHHH find another font already!) when I see it, so to use it in an ad for a dentist just seems retarded. I hate it almost as much as I hate Comic Sans, but sorry, nothing will ever top my absolute loathing for that crappy overused miserable excuse for a font.
Andrew | January 29, 2009
Haha! I also googled exactly "I hate papyrus font"! My boss uses it for everything! All of my coworkers are aware of my disdain for this horrendously scheisstastic font.
jenny | January 29, 2009
I HATE IT TO! LOL. THIS FONT AND ALSO I HATE HATE HATE (notice the 3 hates) COMIC SANS. check out:
http://bancomicsans.com
whitney | February 18, 2009
I very much hate papyrus. But not as much as I hate Curlz or Comic Sans. At least ONCE a day I have a customer come in and hand me a piece of "artwork" they created for their T-shirts (I work in a screenprinting shop as the artist there) with one of these three fonts somehow word arted to death. It makes my brain hurt.
DV | May 29, 2009
But... it's the Firefly: Serenity font... cry
derek | June 30, 2009
I F*CKING HATE PAPYRUS
ts | August 1, 2009
Pick your battles, people. They're just fonts.
Chris Johnston | August 21, 2009
Y'know, out of all the fonts in my vast collection, I always thought of Papyrus as the prettiest, so it never bothered me when I see it used on a movie poster, website, or brochure. Now Comic Sans... That's just a crappily-designed "font" that should never have been unleashed on the world!
Funny, though, how all those who hate on Papyrus never say what their favorite fonts are. Provide an alternative, people!
Tone Stakes | September 2, 2009
I have to admit I am a Papyrus fan. I am not a designer so I do not have a talent for seeing fonts as an artistic expression, as a layman I think it is great. I agree it is overused and my site is not helping that battle but I like to think my site is using it correctly, haha I am sure all of the users feel they are using it correctly.
Let the battle wage on......
Lawn Elder | October 31, 2009
OMG I thought I was alone. I'm in a graphic design program at TXstate university, and when we have the "typefaces we hate" talk i am the only one who calls out Papyrus and all the amateurish b.s. that accompanies it.
vigrx | December 9, 2009
Lauren | December 30, 2009
I'm stuck what do I do?!?! I'm designing a wedding invitation for a close friend who insists I use papyrus!!! They already threw together the Save the Dates with Papyrus and now she wants it incorporated into the rest of the invite. I cannot even stand the thought of using it. I'm in the wedding. I don't want to ruin our friendship.
Do you know of any fonts that are similar that I could use? I already did a search on whatthefont.com however it didn't help too much. Maybe I just need to blow her away with two designs one using god aweful papyrus and something glamorous.
Logan | January 17, 2010
I agree with this completely! It annoys me so much when I see it! Recently, the time I was most annoyed with it was when it was used for the subtitles in the movie Avatar; it was such a well designed movie, and then they go and stick papyrus in it.