Before it became the go-to font of the internet’s best memes (hello doge), Comic Sans was often used by people with dyslexia because it was, and still is, the best font for them to read.
Something about the shape, outline, and uniqueness of each letter has made it among the most recommended fonts for dyslexic people. Even organizations like the British Dyslexia Association have noted how helpful Comic Sans is for people faced with hardships in reading.
Quick recap on dyslexia: it’s a learning disorder that makes it difficult to recognize letters and words. Reading is tough when letters become a jumbled mess in the mind of someone with dyslexia. That’s why typefaces with distinctly unique letters are a saving grace for the dyslexia community. Times New Roman, for example, is one of the worst fonts for people with dyslexia because some letters are merely mirror images of each other, making it easy for dyslexic people to read them the wrong way.
Simply put, the readability of Comic Sans just makes life easier for people with dyslexia.
Other fonts that are great for people with dyslexia? Arial, Century Gothic, Verdana, and Calibri, according to a Spanish study. What do these fonts all have in common with Comic Sans? They’re all sans serif, Roman, and monospaced.
So, the next time you see someone using Comic Sans, try not to judge their taste in fonts and graphics too quickly. They might be one of the millions with reading disabilities grateful for the Comic Sans typeface.
