Visual communication has been a life-long affair for me. I love it. What I don’t love is the constant abuse of typefaces. It totally makes me cringe. (Kudos to Papyrus Watch for helping us laugh about it.)

Here are five fonts that I can definitely do without:

  1. Algerian
  2. Papyrus
  3. Comic Sans
  4. Lucida Handwriting
  5. Curlz

It’s my hope that you — as indie filmmakers — will pause, think, and make educated design choices at every stage of the filmmaking process. You see, the design choices you make speak volumes about you and your work as an indie filmmaker; however, sometimes they aren’t saying very nice things. Especially if you’re abusing a typeface like the ones I listed.

As indie filmmakers, we communicate visually on a regular basis. We make thousands of decisions about how we want a story told on screen. Where do we put the camera? How does this lighting or lens affect the story? What’s the best edit for this scene? We make so many decisions that communicate information visually to our audiences.

Even after picture lock, we make more decisions on behalf of our films. We use websites, avatars, posters, DVD labels, stickers, and business cards (among other things) to tell audiences about the film we so labored over so lovingly. Yet, somehow this part of the process *typically* doesn’t get the same respect.

When you pour everything into making a great film but skimp on graphic design, you do yourself — and your films — a disservice.

Respect the design process just as much as you respect the filmmaking process. It’s important. If you don’t feel comfortable making graphic design choices, ask a designer to help. Find a volunteer or raise the money to pay the designer. Make it happen. It’s that important.

In the meantime, please — for the love of all things holy — stop abusing those typefaces, eh?

Want to learn more?

If you want learn more about why these fonts are so hated, here’s where you can find thoughts from other folks. They’ll help you explore this subject. Do your own research, too, when you have a moment, eh?

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