The Comic Sans typeface has often been described as completely unprofessional, tasteless and artless by designers, but a large number of web users and typographers continue to favor it above more legible and elegant fonts. The general public like it and recent research even suggests that Comic Sans, or other less legible typefaces like it, may actually promote better readability than more conventional, professional fonts.

Comic Sans was developed by Vincent Connare, the former Microsoft designer, in 1994 as an attempt at “friendlier” font style for Microsoft Windows user interface. More precisely, it was developed as an alternative to the now absconding Microsoft Bob’s user interface font, the Times New Roman that was used in the word balloons of comic characters.

The typeface was created inspired by the lettering style of comic books. Two comic books in particular, The Dark Knight Returns and The Watchmen, inspired Connare to come up with the Comic Sans typeface. Since then, Connare has made it amply clear that Comic Sans was a casual typeface that was never intended for general, more formal use. In fact, comic book lettering is usually more regular or formal and though from the name of the typeface it might be assumed that Comic Sans was modeled on comic book lettering, Connare’s original intent was not so.

In Connare’ own words, he did not design Comic Sans as a typeface but as a solution to Microsoft Bob’s program interface font that was used to communicate messages. MS Bob’s dog Rover displayed messages using Times New Roman. The inspiration for the Comic Sans typeface came from seeing the inappropriate use of Times New Roman. Thus Comic Sans was designed to use for applications that were designed for children and no other formal programs applications.

What do you want to search for?	What do you want to search for?

In 1999, two American designers, Dave and Holly Combs in their website “Ban Comic Sans” targeted Comic Sans claiming that the typeface was inappropriate and largely misused. They called Comic Sans misuse “analogous to showing up for a black tie event in a clown costume”. Of course, it is hard to disagree with some of what they say, mainly that the typeface is either well used or badly abused.

It appears, the problem with Comic Sans is not the typeface itself, but its abuse that has led to wide scale revulsion. The typeface is irritably simple, resembling informal handwriting and approximating to a seven-year old child’s scrawl. The most comic thing about Comic Sans is that it just begs the use of multiple colors. But then, it was never designed for formal use. So where’s the problem?

There isn’t a problem really. Comic Sans does no harm if its use can be regulated. Especially for designers, this is important. One wouldn’t want a Comic Sans typeface of an ambulance, would they?

Do general users care? Well…no, they don’t. In fact, general users love the typeface. Comic Sans has been used in party invitations, greeting cards, toyshops, and even inter-office mails and memos. Overall, Comic Sans seems to be everywhere and anywhere there is need for homely and friendly lettering but legible, eye-grabbing typeface.

To conclude with Connare on Comic Sans “If you love it, you don't know much about typography and if you hate it you really don't know much about typography either”.

You claim to create beautiful and effective designs for your clients. But what does your own website say about your designing talents? If you haven’t given this question much thought, it’s about time you do.

Your portfolio page is an important component of your website. Any online business looking for a good web designer will first be reading your home page to gauge what services you are offering and then visit your portfolio page to see samples of your work. Websites without a portfolio page are less successful in attracting clients, simply because consumers (clients) like to know what they are buying (services) and product images (portfolio) helps them decide which item (web designer) best suits their needs.

Here’s a quick look at how your portfolio page affects potential clients and decides business inflow:

1. The Presence of a Portfolio

A portfolio supports your claims while absence of one immediately falsifies them. A portfolio page does not only show samples of your work to clients, helping them understand your creative and aesthetic talent, but also shows them you are confident about your work. Most importantly, you have had similar and other online businesses trust you with their website’s design.

Potential clients tend to contact existing clients for feedback on a web designer’s style and mode of work. Providing a link to project websites from each of your project snippets allows them to directly contact other website owners, consequently cementing the authenticity of your claims. Often, this works better than testimonials.

2. The Total Number of Projects – There is no standard number for this but more than 10 successfully completed projects should be a good start and can go up to any number thereof.

Note: It takes about 2 to 4 weeks to finish a web designing project, (client feedback and rework included). If you are just a year old web designer, your portfolio page should ideally show between 10 and 20 completed projects, (give and take the time taken to bid and draw projects from the market). A portfolio with 50 completed projects isn’t practical in this case, and would raise suspicion than impress prospective clients.

Also, remember to always include snippets of websites you have completed working on and not ongoing projects. You don’t have to brag. Besides, potential clients may be deterred simply because they’d assume you can’t make sufficient time to give their project the time and attention it requires.

3. Type of Work – Are your designs consistently the same across all websites? If yes, that’s probably not very good. The race to stand out from the crowd is maddening and every online business desires a website that is unique.

Consistently good work is important, but if you have applied the same ideas with just little color and pattern tweaks for all websites, that’s not what business owners would fall for. That being said, if you have designed for clients from diverse businesses, there is less chance of producing similar designs.

The surest way to improve your designs is experimenting with different domains. Don’t stick to any one niche. Saying “I am a travel site designer “does not work.

4. Quality of Work – Does your site allow user-friendly navigation? How long do your pages take to load? Normally, if you are designing a Flash site, it will take some minutes to load and it’s understandable. But with simple HTML, your website should not take more than 2-3 minutes.

Also, test your site for navigation, color, font size and font style, white space, image quality and an overall user-friendly design.

5. Testimonials – Next to your project samples, clients will look for a testimonial section. Testimonials support your claim for quality of work. A satisfied group of clients testifies your work as hirable, thus increasing your chances of getting new projects.

A portfolio works like a certificate professional experience. Without one, your words have little value.