What's the worst font ever? The second round of voting continues in Font Madness — our quest to crown the worst font ever. Take a look at these painful match-ups:
#16 Palace Script MT vs. #9 Willona
Why Palace Script MT Is The Worst
Nevermind the fact that a 44pt font appears as an 8pt font with this typeface, nothing cheapens up whatever faux-fancy masterpiece you're making faster than a few words in Palace Script MT.
Why Willona Is The Worst
Willona, you're taking the fall for the entire Millennial Wedding Script genre here. There's a new custom typeface popping up everyday that more or less looks exactly like this. You know the type. It's calligraphy with a dash of pumpkin spice latte.
Voting for this round has concluded.
#5 Mistral vs. #4 Chalkboard
Why Mistral Is The Worst
Never has a cursive font so obviously been computer type. But that won't stop people from trying. You know those insurance company letters you get in the mail that put a few words in red on the top of the envelope to make you think it's important and actually handwritten? It's not real. It's Mistral.
Why Chalkboard Is The Worst
Wait...is that?
No, it is not Comic Sans. Someone actually spent the time to make a typeface that is allll most Comic Sans, but not quite. I think that makes it worse.
Voting for this round has concluded.
#11 Vivaldi Italic vs. #3 Rage Italic
Why Vivaldi Italic Is The Worst
If you like illegible capital letters and unpleasantly distinct fake handwriting, Vivaldi Italic is your guy.
Why Rage Italic Is The Worst
I'll give Rage Italic this: it is appropriately named. It's been infuriating me for longer than I care to remember.
Voting for this round has concluded.
#7 Kristen ITC vs. #2 Lucida Calligraphy
Why Kristen ITC Is The Worst
Oh, come on. You're better off taking a physical crayon and just haphazardly scribbling over your monitor than you are producing any material written in Kristen ITC.
Why Lucida Calligraphy Is The Worst
Lucida Calligraphy is under-the-radar terrible. It hides behind public punching bags like Comic Sans hoping you won’t notice it’s egregious use on the entire PTA Bake Sale flyer. We see you now, you fraud. How do you sleep at night calling yourself calligraphy?
Voting for this round has concluded.
#1 Papyrus vs. #9 Giddy Up
Why Papyrus Is The Worst
Nothing screams “hot garbage” louder than a product touted in Papyrus.
Just look at it. It looks like termites started to chew on someone’s oddly-spaced handwriting, but then the termites realized “geez, this is awful” and left it to rot. Papyrus is not some whimsical, vaguely-Mediterranean typeface. It’s a bucket of trash not even good enough for termites.
I’ll admit. I’ve never visited the Mediterranean. In my mind, it’s this picturesque slice of Earth where brilliant blue water hugs rocky shores dotted with colorful villas. But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s a hellish landscape where everything is written in Papyrus.
Why Giddy Up Is The Worst
What are you supposed to be? Ropes? Little lasso-like curls? Giant pigtails? Do we really need one on every single character? Seems a bit much.
Voting for this round has concluded.
#5 Waker vs. #13 Ravie
Why Waker Is The Worst
Wow. There is a lot to unpack here. This is a bad font even without the Chia Pet hair, but I'm guessing by the font name that those wildly unnecessary lines are supposed to be...sunbeams? I don't know. The actual answer doesn't matter. This is so awful.
Why Ravie Is The Worst
If Ravie could walk,this musicwould start playing every time.
Voting for this round has concluded.
#6 Bleeding Cowboys vs. #3 Jokerman
Why Bleeding Cowboys Is The Worst
Some fonts are boring. Others make your eyes bleed. If this font were a human, it would be a 23-year old woman from Ohio wearing cowboy boots at a Nickelback concert.
Why Jokerman Is The Worst
If I had a dollar for every time I saw a "crafty" business use this font in their signage or branding, I would have a lot of money not to spend at those businesses.
Voting for this round has concluded.
#7 Snap ITC vs. #2 Gigi
Why Snap ITC Is The Worst
Not to be outdone by it's chunky relative Ravie, Snap ITC comes bumbling onto the screen with absolutely zero respect for its appearance. It's like that neighbor who goes out to fetch the paper in his robe and boxers. Just pure disregard for anyone's visual well-being.
Why Gigi Is The Worst
Microsoftdescribes Gigi as a font with a "charming and fresh handwritten quality." Keep in mind Microsoft also produced Windows Vista.
Voting for this round has concluded.
Polls for this round close at 11:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, March 18.
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