Is Comic Sans going to get Brexit done?

Earlier this week, the Tories’ Twitter account raised disbelief for using Comic Sans to share a pro-Brexit message. Are they just trolling the design community, or is there something deeper at play?

Image by @christhebarker

At the moment, the Conservatives’ Twitter account is the design equivalent of the lost property box at school. It’s filled with typefaces and graphics of all sizes, shapes and colours, none of which belong together, or offer much use to anyone.

Scrolling back reveals frantic sharing of the party’s pro-Brexit stance this week, with multiple bits of #GetBrexitDone imagery being posted in recent days. There’s plenty of patriotic blues and reds, but otherwise there’s little obvious consistency to the graphics, giving the uncomfortable impression that some poor junior designer has been handed the keys to the MyFonts account, and left to churn out hundreds of the things.

The account drew particular ridicule for its devil-may-care use of Comic Sans, as well as what appears to be a bizarre appropriation of club culture. The Comic Sans tweet got plenty of attention from the creative community, as well as a long list of satirical replies, including the inevitable ‘graphic design is my passion’ memes. Many mocked the choice of font, but considering Comic Sans’ much-derided place in the world of type, it’s hard to believe the person making these graphics didn’t know exactly what they were doing.